


Paint the Roses Red

by louser



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cardverse, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Nyo!USUK, Nyotalia, Surreal, eventual nyo!pruaus, story heavy, updated pretty sporadically sorry about that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2682365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louser/pseuds/louser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice Kirkland, failing as a journalist in the real world, is lead into the Cardverse by a mysterious white-haired woman. There, Alice is taken in by the King of Spades, and is allowed to stay in the castle if she stands in as Queen until she finds a way home. (Heavily references Alice in Wonderland)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just as a quick note, this story very heavily references Alice in Wonderland, reasons for this being, 1. I immensely enjoy the story and all of the movies/spin-offs, 2. Her name is Alice, I mean, come on, and 3. For some reason, I've always imagined Cardverse as being similar to Wonderland. Also, I'm not sure what the deal is with the indentation? Sorry about that. In any case, thank you for reading, sorry for ranting, and I hope you enjoy my writing.

Alice’s hands felt pleasantly warm and soft against the tight, tired skin of her face, and the concrete she was sitting on felt… less so. That was more of a cold, hard reminder of the fact that she had been evicted once again due to her tedious and meritless dead-end job that didn’t even pay the bills properly. Being a maid was honestly the worst choice of employment that the girl could have picked. Why had she ever thought that it was a good idea?

“I wanted to be a journalist,” she sighed to herself with a half-hearted hit to the railing beside her. “All I asked for was a job that earned me a living. Is that too much?”

She didn’t have anywhere to go. She barely even had enough money to get her dinner for the night, and the only coat she had was inside the apartment that she was currently locked outside of. Alice Kirkland was feeling utterly horrible. She missed the days when she lived with her family as a child and could simply run to her parents or sisters when she was in trouble, but this was her life now. Any means of communication with her family had been lost months ago, along with Alice’s pride and promise as a journalist.

“Are you okay?” Someone asked, stopping directly in front of Alice. When she looked up, the girl found it to be a long-haired woman with a smug grin on her face. At first Alice thought the woman to be quite old due to the pale white of her hair, but quickly dismissed the idea. No old lady wore that much black leather, or smiled at the suffering of others for that matter.

“I’m fine,” Alice bit back coldly. “May I ask what the hell you want with me?”

“Ha! You really are a feisty one, aren’t you, Alice? I look forward to working with you.”

Now that got Alice’s attention. “Wait- who are you?” She began, but the woman was already running off through the streets. How had a stranger known her name? Could it- could it be that her family had sent someone to find her? But if that was the case, why would the woman run away from her? There was only one way to get all the answers, Alice supposed, and that was to get a hold of the strange woman. “Wait!” She called once again. This time, she got up to chase after her.

Alice had always considered herself a fast runner, even underfed and overworked. That was why she found it so hard to believe when the other girl always seemed ten steps ahead, no matter how hard she pushed herself to go faster. “I told you to stop!” She yelled desperately, but her cries apparently fell on deaf ears.

“Catch me if you can!” The woman laughed, suddenly veering into an unfamiliar alley. Everything about that kind of screamed ‘creeper about to kill you!’ but the elation at the chance that it was Alice’s family trying to contact her outweighed the girl’s usual rationality. Perhaps it was going to be a mistake, but she poured all of her remaining strength into her stride and gave chase into the alley.

The woman wasn’t there. She wasn’t freaking there. The alley was completely empty. Alice slowed to a stop and fell to her knees, breaths coming out heavy and ragged, eyes welling up with tears. She had come so close, but not close enough. Defeated, she stood and turned to walk back to the main road, only to find that… it wasn’t there. The alley just continued onward for as long as the eye could see. In a panic, Alice turned back to where she had been facing only moments before, but it was the same. The alley continued on, endlessly, in both directions. “Too late to turn back,” the voice of the woman from earlier boomed. “You gotta keep going now!”

“Keep going where!?” Alice demanded. Oh, this was nothing short of a nightmare! Wait. “I’m dreaming,” she laughed. “I’m simply dreaming. This whole experience has been far too peculiar to be real.”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then fine,” the voice replied. “But you can’t just sit around all day, sister!”

“Please! I can do whatever I want,” Alice scoffed. “However, I am curious… if I wish it to, the alley will eventually end, correct?”

“ _Ja_ , it ends.”

“Then I will continue. That is, if I can’t wake myself up first.” Having said it, Alice then reached over to pinch herself on the arm. It stung, but upon doing so, nothing changed. “That settles it, I suppose.”

The voice guffawed, the sound echoing off the walls so harshly that Alice was forced to cover her ears for discomfort. “You know, you’re the most fun I’ve had in a while? There’s someone I really want to introduce you to, but it’ll have to wait. See you on the flip side, _Schatz_!”

After that, there was no reply from the woman’s voice, no matter what Alice asked or how much she asked it. She was completely alone in the alley. Even if this was only a dream, and the woman seemed to be of an insufferable sort, the idea that she was by herself in an empty alley with no end in sight made Alice feel just the slightest twinge of sadness. If she was to be honest, speaking with the woman had been the longest social interaction she’d had in, well, who knew how long? It was also the most entertaining conversation she’d had in an even longer time.

Lost in these thoughts, Alice almost didn’t notice as new branches began to appear in the alley. Before she even knew it, the walls were crawling with vines as they crisscrossed through each other, creating a maze of immense proportions. Out of curiosity, she pulled back a layer of vines adorning one of the walls, eyes narrowing in confusion when the object beneath revealed itself as a clock fastened deeply into the wall. It became a game of sorts while she made her way through the maze. Every time she took a new passage, Alice would peer through the vines to see what kind of item lay underneath. There were clocks, pink flowers, yellow flowers, swords, and engravings of spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. She tended to stick to the routes marked by clocks, if only because a clock was the first thing she had found.

“Why a clock, I wonder?” Alice asked aloud as she wandered down one of the paths. “My subconscious doesn’t want to make any sense, does it?”

Just as she had finished making the comment, the maze suddenly ended. Alice emerged, stepping into the evening air of a place she’d never seen before. She was atop a cliff that overlooked a sprawling kingdom, at the center of which stood a castle bearing a large clock-tower. The girl had never seen anything like it. “If I am dreaming,” she said with a whistle, “then I have possibly the best imagination in the history of mankind.”

_Growl._

That did _not_ sound good.

Alice whirled around just in time to come face to face with a horrible creature with yellow teeth like knives, bared so close to her face that she could feel the monster’s hot breath. Its eyes, the same color as its teeth, held an untamable ferocity. With a startled yelp, Alice stumbled backwards and fell from the cliff.

Falling to her doom wasn’t exactly Alice’s first idea when it came to how she would die, but for a moment she wondered if it would be the last. The wind whistled past her as she fell. The ground came up faster than she ever would have thought possible. In a last ditch effort to put off inevitable death, Alice reached forward to scratch at the cliff face, gasping in relief when her hands wrapped around a branch protruding from the rock. Her body jolted, causing her arms to scream with pain, but still she held steadfast.

She didn’t know how long she’d been hanging from that branch when there was a loud greeting shouted from below. “Hello there!” Someone yelled. “Would you happen to need some help?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine up here,” Alice answered sarcastically. Her arms began to slip from the branch.

“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll just be on my way,” the second mysterious stranger that Alice had met that day replied. There was a sound of hoof-beats beginning to retreat before Alice finally called out again.

“D-Don’t leave! I wasn’t being serious!” She shouted in a panic. “Please get me down from here!”

“I dunno, anyone who climbs up to mess with the Bandersnatch in the first place probably oughta learn their lesson, don’t you think?” The stranger teased, but made no move to leave the other alone from what Alice could hear. She was probably enjoying this, wasn’t she? What a-

“I beg your pardon, but I’ll have you know that I ended up in that maze completely by mistake,” Alice huffed, cutting off her own thought. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. “This entire dream has been a pain in the arse, and I’m not sure how to wake up yet, so I would appreciate a little bit of decency until I am. Now, I am about to fall. Would you please assist me in not becoming seriously injured?”

The stranger was silent for several moments (during which Alice worried that she had somehow offended the other to the point where she definitely would not get help) before she answered, voice thick with barely contained amusement. “Wow. You’re-“

“Feisty? I’ve heard,” Alice gasped. It was now or never. She was definitely about to fall.

“Pfft! You’re kind of annoying, but I like you,” the stranger giggled (to which Alice usually would have replied ‘ _I’m_ the annoying one?’ but was afraid that the energy needed to speak would take away from the energy she was using to hold on). “Just let go and I’ll catch you, okay?”

“E-Excuse me?” Alice squeaked in surprise.

“It’s not that long of a fall. I’ll just catch you.”

“I-I-“

“It’s that or hang there forever, so. Choose wisely, bro.”

Technically she wasn’t wrong. Alice took a deep breath and prepared herself for the worst before letting go of the branch, gasping in surprise when she landed harshly on the lap of who she assumed was the stranger. The horse that they were atop of gave an unhappy whinny and attempted to run off before the stranger pulled on the reigns.

Speaking of the stranger, now that Alice got a good look of her, she was actually quite nice-looking. “Hello citizen,” said girl laughed. “What would your name be?”

“Alice Kirkland,” she replied. “And yours?”

“King Amelia of Spades! I’m guessing you’re not from around here?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue-heavy chapter! Sorry for any mistakes. Thank you once again for reading.

Alice sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes lethargically with one hand and reaching over to grab her glasses off the nightstand with the other. Surprisingly, the hand grasping for the nightstand was met only with open air, and the girl was forced to look over the room to find why that was so. She wasn’t at home. The room was far too large and covered with fancy blue-and-purple decorations that she could never afford. The bed that she was sitting on was large and soft with more blankets than she could ever imagine needing.

“I guess that wasn’t a dream, after all…” She sighed.

“Nope!” Came Amelia’s voice from nearby. The other girl was standing at the far end of the room and digging quite obnoxiously through a large wardrobe. “Do you prefer dresses or no?”

“Yes, I suppose?”

“Really? I like them too, but with all the running around I do it’s hard to wear ‘em. Good for you I’ve got enough unused ones to last you a lifetime,” Amelia began to throw dresses across the room while rambling on and on about how she wished it was easier to spar and ride horses in skirts, but Alice wasn’t entirely invested in the conversation. Instead of tuning in (as was polite), she stood carefully from the bed and tenderly picked up one of the abused gowns. It was nice, that was for sure.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Alice mumbled.

Amelia barked out a laugh. “Was that sarcastic or genuine?”

“A bit of both?”

“Fair enough.”

The pair fell into an uneasy silence as Amelia continued to rummage through the wardrobe and Alice stood at the foot of the bed, gown still clutched tightly in her hands. In all honesty, her mind was running too fast at the moment to do much else. What was one supposed to do when they traveled to a strange world through an alley that became a maze because they had been lured there by a weird disappearing woman with white hair? That wasn’t exactly something that Mum and Dad taught you when going over the procedure for when you get lost.

“By the way,” Amelia began. She stood up, hands on her hips, and turned to face Alice. “Where exactly did you come from? If you’re not from Spades, my best guess is Diamonds?”

“England, actually?” Alice answered a bit reluctantly. She’d never heard of a place called ‘Spades,’ so she highly doubted that the other had heard of England.

“Never heard of it,” Amelia commented. Figured. “Makes sense, though. Nobody from around here would go mess with the Bandersnatch.”

“You called it that before, too,” Alice interjected. “That big monster from the maze. What is it?”

Amelia bit on her lip and looked up at the ceiling, searching for the correct words to use from what Alice could tell. “It’s just a big ol’ meanie that lives on top of the cliff. Leave it alone and it’ll leave you alone. But we aren’t done with our previous conversation, young lady! I sure haven’t heard of England, but you can bet that the Jack has!”

Jack? “Who’s that?” Alice asked, but Amelia was already buzzing about, throwing open the bedroom door and asking the servants passing by if they could fetch this mysterious ‘Jack.’

“Hopefully that’s settled soon,” Amelia yawned. “You might want to change, though, Miss Alice. I have a feeling you don’t want the whole castle to see you in a nightgown.”

Alice felt her cheeks begin to burn in embarrassment. “I-I’ll be dressed in a minute! Go on and leave!”

 

‘Jack’ turned out to be a nice young woman named Chun-Yan who worked in the library and kept track of all important records in Spades. “Of course I’ve heard of England!” She exclaimed upon questioning. She pulled out a thick book from inside of her bag and dropped it on the meeting room table, flipping through the pages to somewhere in the middle. “You’re hardly the first person to come from there, Miss Alice,” she informed the blonde with a smile. “People are always falling through rabbit holes and mirrors. Did you fall through a rabbit hole?”

“No,” Alice sighed. “I followed a woman.”

Amelia looked about to make a very crude comment, but Chun-Yan didn’t give her the chance. “What did the woman look like?”

“She had long, white hair and very odd eyes,” Alice replied. “Her outfit consisted mostly of black leather. She had a tendency to disappear. For a while, all I heard was her voice.”

“Sounds like she did follow a rabbit,” Amelia muttered, sharing a knowing look with Chun-Yan.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Alice asked.

“Julchen’s at it again,” Chun-Yan answered, exasperation apparent in her voice. She scribbled down a quick note in the book before shoving it back in the bag with a huff. “Nothing good ever comes of her interference. When was the last time she came and meddled with things?”

“Coronation of the Queen of Hearts,” Amelia answered with a shiver.

“That was good day until she showed up,” Chun-Yan pouted.

This was never going to get anywhere if those two kept talking like Alice wasn’t there. “Somebody please just tell me who she is and if I can get home!” She demanded, placing both hands firmly on the table.

Chun-Yan grimaced and turned to face Alice, obviously very uncomfortable with what she would have to say next. It wasn’t going to be good, was it? “I don’t… know how to get you home,” she admitted. “Most visitors just disappear after a few days. Some never do. If Julchen brought you here, then I would say it’s probably the latter we’re looking at.”

“That-That is… unbelievable. There has to be a way to go home,” Alice argued. Her voice was probably raising several octaves as she spoke due to fear, but she couldn’t have cared less at the moment. She wasn’t- there was no way that she could be stuck there! “Can’t I just go through the maze again? Would that work?”

At this point Amelia got to her feet, slamming her hands down on the table herself. “Are you crazy!? I’ve already told you that nobody goes up there! The Bandersnatch would have you torn apart before you could take one step inside!”

“Both of you calm down!” Chun-Yan ordered. She was still seated, bag hoisted over her shoulder and both hands folded neatly in her lap. “My God, it’s like speaking with children.”

“S-Sorry,” Alice apologized immediately.

“Same,” Amelia agreed.

Both girls sat down once again, heads hanging in embarrassment.

“The best way I can think of returning you is to find a Joker, like Julchen,” Chun-Yan said slowly. “They’re always doing things to cause trouble, but they are also the only ones who can travel between worlds like ours and yours easily. Until then, you are more than welcome to stay in Spades. Right, Amelia?”

“Totally!” Amelia replied. She smiled at Alice, seemingly over her outburst from earlier. “Heck, you can stay in the castle!”

Chun-Yan gave a decisive nod. “It’s settled then. We’ll all try our best.”

 

As the trio left the meeting room, Amelia grabbed onto Alice’s sleeve.

“Can we talk for a minute?” She asked. Her voice was the quietest Alice had heard it be since they had met (granted, that wasn’t long ago), and her eyes were dead serious, so what was there to say but yes? After the exchange, Alice was led into an empty corridor that reeked of dust and mold.

Amelia stopped about halfway through the corridor and spun around to grab both of Alice’s hands. Oh, she was far too close for comfort! Close enough so that Alice could see the blue of her eyes and the strand of hair that was stuck in her eyelashes. What was this, a marriage proposal?

“I need you to be my queen,” Amelia said at last.

Alice hadn’t expected to be right. “What? I’m very sorry, but don’t you find that to be pushing things a little too quickly?”

“It’s just a job,” Amelia argued. “You don’t even have to do much! It’s just that…” she leaned in even closer, so that her lips just barely escaped touching Alice’s ear. “Spades is weak. Our last queen is no longer with us, and until we get a new one, we’re an easy target for the other three kingdoms.”

Such a topic would have been hard enough to mull over in the first place, not to mention with an attractive woman whispering into Alice’s ear in the middle of an empty hallway. It took all of her concentration for the girl to finally ask, “What do you mean by ‘be your queen’ then?”

“I have a proposition of sorts,” Amelia continued, still whispering, and still far too close. “You can stay here- in the castle- as long as you help me. You have an eye for detail, right? I could tell. Are you an artist?”

“I wanted to be a journalist,” Alice breathed.

“Even better. You understand politics, then?”

“I would say so, yes.”

“See? That’s all we need right there. There’s a Meeting of the Monarchs in two days, and the only thing I need you to do is come with me, tell them you are the new queen, take some notes on what they say for me, and all that junk. After that, just keep the charade up until we find a Joker. Sweet deal, right?”

“W-We don’t, er, have to…” Alice stuttered, taking a step backwards so that she had space to think.

“Have to what?”

“Get… married?”

“Married? Why would we have to do that?” Amelia cocked her head to the side, looking absolutely puzzled. “Is that what you do in England? ‘Cuz that’s weird.”

“That’s not what you do here?”

“Not at all! It’s a matter of appointment. Have you seen the clock tower?” Amelia began to blush deeply, but shook her head and made a circling motion towards the ceiling. “There’s an hour hand, a minute hand, and a second hand, right? Clocks usually only work when all three spin together, but that’s not what this one does. The hour hand begins to spin when the King first sets foot in the castle, the minute hand for the Queen, and the second hand for the Jack. There’re other ways of appointment in the other three kingdoms, but… nobody gets married. I still can’t believe you brought that up! I’m embarrassed just thinking about it!”

Alice blushed as well, tugging on one of her ponytails in embarrassment. “Sorry for misunderstanding your… weird customs!” She coughed. “That isn’t how things work where I’m from, so I just assumed!”

“Ugh, it’s fine, just- don’t talk about it again, please!”

How was Alice ever going to be able to speak to Amelia normally again, much less live with her? “S-So… how would you explain to everyone why the minute hand didn’t start spinning?” She mumbled in an attempt to change the subject.

“So you’ll do it!?” Amelia gasped, smiling from ear to ear. She leaped forward and enveloped the other in a hug that took Alice’s breath away (literally, she couldn’t breathe and she was beginning to see stars). “Awesome! You don’t have to worry about anything, I promise!”

After Alice could finally breathe again, she rolled her eyes and stepped away, shaking her head tiredly. “You still haven’t answered my question,” she commented.

“That’ll be easy,” Amelia laughed. “Because it started spinning the moment you walked inside.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long to update, but there's been quite a bit going on for me. Both sides of my family have moved since I started, and my new school takes up quite a bit of my time (I'm in my Junior year as well, so I have to focus on my grades). However, there shouldn't be another pause that long for quite some time, if there even is another one. In any case, I also apologize for the quality of this chapter as it's essentially filler and a couple of things that needed to be out of the way before the meeting. By the end of it I just needed to get it out of the way so that I could start on the next one. To make up for it, I'll try to get the next (more exciting, I promise) chapter up this weekend as well.

In preparation for the meeting, Alice was to spend the next two days in lessons with both Amelia and Chun-Yan. She had to know how to act, what to say, and who the other monarchs were. Apparently she would need some lessons on the politics of the world she had dubbed ‘Cardverse’, too, since her knowledge was… of a different culture. In any case, her first lesson was with Chun-Yan, and the Jack had come prepared to Alice’s bedroom with piles of books and documents.

“I’m going to tell you about the other monarchs you’ll be meeting,” Chun-Yan grunted as she dropped everything on the bed. “The books are categorized by color: Yellow is Diamonds, Red is Hearts, and Green is Clubs. Where do you want to start?”

“Hmmm… Clubs, I suppose?” Alice answered, picking up a rather sizeable book that was bound in green.

Chun-Yan let out a short laugh, though her face was anything but joyful. “How ironic,” she said while holding out her hands for the book. “It’s Amelia’s least favorite of the kingdoms.”

“Why’s that?”

Once she had the book in hand, Chun-Yan opened it to very near the last page. On it was a large picture of a blonde woman robed in green, smiling tiredly at the reader as she sat on a throne. “Because of her. That’s King Anya of Clubs.”

Alice was taken aback by the statement. “She looks nice enough,” she argued.

“Yes, she does. Amelia says that she’s always hiding something, though,” Chun-Yan motioned to a small paragraph underneath the portrait. “She’s been King for about as long as I’ve been Jack. Be prepared at the meeting; she’ll do and say pretty much anything to get a deal that benefits Clubs above the other kingdoms. Her Queen is a man named Daniel, and her Jack is a woman named Anneliese. Daniel is ruthless himself, but Anneliese will listen and strategize before she speaks, so I say watch out for her the most.” As she finished, the Jack flipped the page over to reveal two more pictures: one portrayed a man in armor with his brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, the other a dark-haired, serious woman who held a book very similar to Chun-Yan’s.

“Got it.” Alice nodded and made a mental note of all three rulers.

After that, the lesson dragged by slowly. Even though Alice had always loved to learn new things, the new queen could hardly remain interested in the lives and policies of nine different monarchs, especially when she had no knowledge of the kingdoms’ pasts. All she had retained by the end of their time together was that Amelia had a bone to pick with almost every one of them, and that Cardversian politics were even more complicated than she could have ever imagined. In an attempt to understand, she rubbed her temples and asked once again, “So… Amelia doesn’t like Queen Sakura because-“

“Queen Sakura of Hearts began to hold mass executions several years back,” Chun-Yan answered. She appeared every bit as frazzled as her student, with a tired look about her eyes and hair sticking up out of her twin buns. “We still don’t know why. She refuses to comment.”

“What about King Francoise? You said they used to be close.”

“Like family,” Chun-Yan agreed. “They had a falling out of sorts due to clashing political views.”

Amelia certainly was not the most popular person that Alice had ever met, but she could relate in a way. It was far too easy to lose the people close to you.

All of a sudden, the door to Alice’s bedroom swung open. “You guys in here?” Amelia called.

“Yes, over here!” Alice answered, her voice hoarse from use.

“Ah!” Amelia turned in their direction and strutted to the bed, where the two were now sitting with equally disgruntled expressions. Apparently this was no surprise to the king- or perhaps she was simply oblivious to their despairing aura- as she simply placed her hands upon her hips and gave a baffled ‘tsk tsk tsk’ to the pair. “What are y’all doing lazing around on the bed? I thought you were supposed to be studying!”

“We were. It was less than satisfactory,” Alice groaned. Chun-Yan mumbled something about slow progress and fell backwards onto the pillows.

Amelia snorted, throwing herself onto the mattress and creating a knot of arms and legs that was comprised of three flailing girls. “What have you learned so far?” She laughed while the others tried fruitlessly to untangle themselves. One of her elbows was digging into Alice’s stomach.

“Monarch titles are gender-neutral and you are very popular.”

“Of course I am!” Amelia giggled with a wink. “Oh! But that’s not why I came in here. I need you to come with me for a bit.”

“Clock?” Chun-Yan yawned, her voice muffled by blankets.

“Clock,” Amelia agreed.

What the heck did a clock have to do with anything? Amelia had told Alice of the _clocktower’s_ significance earlier, but surely the king wasn’t suggesting that they climb up the blasted thing? That would be… foolhardy, to say the very least, and would probably convince Alice to rethink their agreement. “What do you mean?” She asked cautiously, finally finding a way to push herself up and out of the mess of girls and pillows. “How many clocks are in this kingdom?”

There was a thoughtful hum from Amelia before she slipped out of the tangle as well; she stood and smoothed out the wrinkles on her tunic. “You’ll see~” Was the only response that Alice was able to elicit. Before anything could be done to prevent it, Amelia grabbed onto Alice’s elbow and dragged her out the door with a shouted parting call to Chun-Yan.

What Alice wouldn’t give for just a moment of predictability.

Within only a couple moments the two had arrived upon an oddly average-looking door for the volume of Amelia’s excitement. It was nothing special: an old wooden door with a brass knob and blue trim, not unlike any of the others within the castle. “Are you feeling well?” Alice asked, nonplussed. “Or am I the only one here who doesn’t get the joke?”

“There’s no joke,” Amelia replied as she rocked back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels. Her smile was just as large as it was in Alice’s bedroom, if not larger.

A short pause fell over the duo until Alice motioned impatiently to the door. “Well then?”

“Right!” Amelia fumbled around in her pockets until she pulled out a ring full of keys. They looked nearly identical to the temporary queen, but the taller blonde was able to pick out the correct key almost immediately and gave Alice another giddy smile before using it to swing the door open.

Both girls entered quietly, Amelia nearly bouncing her way to the back of the room and Alice following calmly after. The whole space was dreadfully dark and the fact that Alice had forgotten her glasses in the bedroom did not help matters, but that problem was quickly solved as light suddenly flooded the room.

“Surprise!” Amelia shouted gleefully as she stood next to a podium that held a purple crown. A clock that was probably the size of a large dog leaned against it as well. There was a small assortment of people with her, but none of them were people that Alice had met. She assumed them to be high-ranking officials. “Sorry it’s not bigger, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you or anything. Plus, uh, Spadesian coronations are pretty much just a formality. They agreed to let me do it anyways. Happy Coronation Day!”

“C-Coronation Day?” Alice stuttered, eyes growing wide.

Amelia nodded and clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling as she lifted the crown from the podium and skipped over the last few paces that separated them. “Okay! So, Chun-Yan’s getting all the official paperwork done, which means all you have to do is accept the crown and it’s yours!”

“Okay then…” Alice trailed off, searching the eyes of the officials behind them. If any of those assembled were averse to having Alice as queen, they said nothing. It was beginning to scare her slightly.

“Don’t worry about them; everyone’s on board since the clock tower, and if any of the citizens were opposed we’d have known. Trust me,” Amelia smiled encouragingly before clearing her throat in a loud and certainly attention-grabbing fashion. “Alice Kirkland of England,” she began in what Alice assumed to be her ‘official’ voice, “Do you accept the duties and responsibilities of a Queen of Spades, from here on until the day your reign comes to an end?”

“I accept them,” Alice answered. She forced her voice to come out strong and even despite the acrobatics going on inside her chest.

Placing the crown happily (if not a bit roughly) upon Alice’s head, Amelia gave a giddy clap. “Sweet!” She laughed. “I mean- I present Queen Alice of Spades!”

The two girls turned to face the gathered officials, who were by now smiling slightly at Amelia’s antics and clapping quietly. The king introduced Alice to all of them, and she shook their hands gratefully while still attempting to seem professional. The officials didn’t stick around long though, all having to rush back to their work that had been interrupted by Amelia’s unofficial coronation. Soon enough, it was back to just the two alone in the room.

“Now that that’s over with,” Amelia said once the last of them had left. “It’s time to explain this beauty right here!” She dragged the clock from the pedestal to Alice, barely breaking a sweat.

“What is it, exactly?” Alice inquired.

“This,” Amelia began with a good-natured pat to the device, “is your contract. As soon as your reign is scheduled to end, the clock will stop working for you. From then you can choose to step down or renew your reign.”

“Oh… who decides my contract?” Alice inquired, suddenly very curious. Hopefully it was Amelia, then this whole business would be so much easier. As soon as they found Julchen, the king could just end her term and they would go their separate ways (Alice pretended the thought didn’t make her slightly sad; she was beginning to like feeling special to someone for once).

“Whoever makes the hands on the clocktower spin,” Amelia answered. “So we don’t really know. It’s usually a four year term.”

“F-Four _years_?” Alice gaped. She was not to going be staying in Spades for that long under any circumstances, contract be damned!

“Yeah… here’s hoping they shorten it for you, huh?” Amelia giggled nervously.

After several moments of bickering over what should be done if the contract did not indeed shorten, both returned to Alice’s room, where they found the bed covered in books but lacking a Jack. They searched the room up and down, left and right, but there was no sign of her. Alice was feeling slightly sick at the thought of such a long stay and nearly forced Amelia to call upon one of the servants to find Chun-Yan and ask about ways to opt out of the remaining years of reign until she fully noticed the note on one of the books. It read: “Congrats to Alice. Doing paperwork. Amelia’s turn to tutor.”

Apparently Amelia took the other’s distraction by the note to as her chance to try and calm her down. She grabbed Alice’s hand (as she was wont to do, and was bad for Alice’s heart), and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now,” the king coughed awkwardly. “But I wouldn’t have asked you to do this for me if I wasn’t confident that I could send you back home soon! So, just, uh trust me, and for now we’ll focus on your training, okay?”

Amelia was right, and Alice forced herself to take a deep breath. “Right. As long as it’s not a bloody history lesson.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a day later than I'd promised, but it's pretty lengthy. Actually, this chapter ended up far longer than anticipated, and I had to cut it off early, so next chapter will most likely end up longer as well (as it will have to make up for what wasn't covered here). Thank you so much for reading!

The best thing about leaving for the meeting was the fact that Alice had the opportunity to see the countryside of Spades properly. She hadn’t been able to before; there’d been no time, what with running from Bandersnatches and being stuck in royal history lessons. Why, she’d barely been outside at all since her arrival in Cardverse! The closest she’d gotten was when she studied politics (something that was much more interesting to the girl than her other studies, and far easier for her to understand with her background in journalism) in the gardens with Amelia, as the other couldn’t stand to be cooped up inside for long. In fact, she was groaning discontentedly at that very moment after their few hours stuck in the carriage.

“I hate this trip!” Amelia whined, leaning her head back against the wall. This turned out to be a bad idea, as after a couple moments of rumbling along the rocky path she leaned forward again to grasp at her scalp. “Don’t do that. It hurts.”

“Shush,” Alice replied. She didn’t take her eyes from the passing scenery: rows of blue flowers, rolling hills, and cloudy skies. Briefly she wondered if it would have been beneficial to share a horse with Chun-Yan, but the Jack had been adamant on having the time alone to ‘get a break.’ “You’re making it hard to concentrate on ignoring you.”

The king only pouted and reached over to give Alice a flick to the cheek. Surprised, the temporary queen whipped around to return the favor just as the carriage abruptly stopped, sending Alice tumbling into Amelia. The experience wouldn’t have been all too bad if it weren’t for the fact that their faces had suddenly gotten _far too close,_ and Alice was now remembering that awkward moment when she thought Amelia had been proposing, and how she hadn’t been entirely annoyed at being carried on the other girl’s lap to the castle when they’d first met, and- oh God, now she was staring at Amelia’s lips, what would she think?

“Alice? Are you okay?” Amelia asked with her brow furrowed in concern. “You look pretty red. If you’re feeling sick-“

“I’m fine,” Alice replied, refusing to meet her eyes. _Stop this right now!_ She chastised herself. _You aren’t some lovesick schoolgirl. The two of you barely know each other._ Her inward ranting, however, did not distract her from the fact that she was still being held upright by Amelia’s arms.

Amelia probably would have continued on with the uncomfortable conversation if not for the sudden opening of the carriage door, courtesy of the footman. One glance at the compromising position that the two had been caught in and suddenly he was more of a blushing mess than Alice was. “I-I’m sorry Your Majesties!” He cried, wrenching his eyes closed and bowing deeply. “But I, um- W-We’ve arrived at the meeting!”

“You’ve got it all-“ Alice began, but was interrupted by an over-enthusiastic Amelia bolting from the vehicle, shouting something akin to ‘Fiiiiinally!’ In the end, Alice merely sighed and thanked the footman as he helped her from the carriage, pressing an extra coin in his hand as she left for his troubles. Well, even if the rest of the situation was becoming a bit bothersome, of one thing the blonde was sure: she was never going to get tired of having enough money to give out extra.

As soon as Alice began making her way in the direction that Amelia had bounded into, Chun-Yan arrived astride a great horse. Somehow she still managed to look rested and ready for politicking despite the long ride, something that Alice herself knew could be tiresome, if not painful.

“How was the journey?” The Jack asked as she dismounted, and though she could not see it from her viewpoint, Alice was sure that there was a knowing smirk gracing her features.

“It was a mess, thank you very much,” Alice answered truthfully. “Yours?”

“Better than usual. Thank you for taking my place.”

So as to keep herself from returning the comment with something biting, Alice quickly changed the subject. “Amelia’s run off and I’d like to explore a bit.”

There was a short, thoughtful pause before Chun-Yan replied, “Just be back before the meeting starts.”

Alice nodded and turned to wander about. The place was larger than she’d expected, and there was quite a bit of greenery. A large pavilion sat in the middle of what she assumed to be a garden, though it could also be considered a small forest. For some reason she felt the need to find out just how far it went, but soon the girl found herself lost amidst the plants and trees. Earlier on in her journey she would have felt fearful, but by now she was quickly learning not to take things at face value. If anything, this was to be expected. Instead of feeling anxious, she took the opportunity to inspect her surroundings.

The flowers were more varied here, with greens and pinks and yellows alongside the blues, Alice noted. Everything was more vibrant. She almost felt… at peace? The entire atmosphere radiated calmness and soothing, and as she breathed she could smell something pleasant in the air. In fact, she could _taste_ something in the air as well, and it was coming from… there! A tiny package sat upon a leaf in one of the trees with a label that read ‘eat me’. The urge to take it was overwhelming.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” came an amused voice from behind her. It was one she hadn’t heard before, holding a very different accent than what she had heard so far in Spades. When Alice spun around to see the owner she was surprised to see one of the portraits she had been studying come to life. More specifically, it was King Francoise of Diamonds, complete with golden bun, violet eyes, tacky orange clothes, and haughty air. “Has no one ever taught you to leave the food you find outside alone? Or is it that the new Queen of Spades was raised in a barn?”

“No, the new Queen of Spades was raised in a flat in London to be precise,” Alice bit back angrily. She could tell already that they were not going to get along. “Not that you would know where that is. And I was not going to eat it; I was just looking. Were you never taught to mind your own business?”

Francoise raised an eyebrow, one corner of her mouth quirking up into a smirk. Alice sincerely hoped that she wasn’t going to call her ‘feisty,’ as that practice was becoming very annoying, very fast. “Oh? I suppose I shouldn’t bother to tell you that that particular brand of fairy food could grow you, shrink you, or kill you, then?”

Suddenly the package didn’t look so inviting, and Alice had some stern words for whichever fairies had left the stuff lying around. “You lot just leave them be, then? For the next sorry person to find?”

“No one comes to the meeting place but royalty,” Francoise replied. She draped an arm around Alice’s shoulders and began to lead her in the direction from whence they came, much to the other’s annoyance. “And most of us- that is, people from around here, which you obviously are not- already have the sense not to touch such things unless the time is right.”

“Unless the time is right?” Alice echoed, stepping out from underneath the unwanted touch.

“Ah, it’s nothing important. Anyways, how is my darling Amelia doing?”

Oh, right. Francoise and Amelia had been close, hadn’t they? That was at least something that Alice could remember from those frustrating lessons. Why had they fallen out of touch again? Chun-Yan had said it was something to do with clashing political views, but Alice wasn’t sure if that meant Amelia would appreciate shared information or not. With what the Queen had seen of Francoise’s personality so far, she decided to play it safe and go with no.

“I believe that would be none of your business,” Alice stated, pulling ahead of her ‘companion’ in hopes that they would arrive the pavilion soon and be spared further conversation. She should’ve guessed that it wouldn’t be that easy.

“So rude! Don’t worry, I shan’t hold it against you. We will speak later!”

 

Alice did, eventually, find the pavilion once more. The table there was already nearly full, and feeling slightly self-conscious with the curious stares that received, she took her place between Amelia and Chun-Yan. Francoise arrived as well and did the same.

“Are we all present?” A short-haired blonde asked, running her gaze over the occupants of the table. Alice recognized her as King Monika of Hearts. “Then let us begin. If anyone has opening remarks, then speak now. Also, ‘let’s all take naps instead of this boring fuss’ is not an acceptable opening remark.”

A cute girl with curly, red-brown hair giggled embarrassedly; that must have been Jack Felicia of Hearts. “That was one time, Moni. Lighten up a bit, huh?”

Amelia laughed and shot a thumbs up at Felicia, who received a soft ‘thwap!’ on the head by Monika.

“Ahem,” Chun-Yan cut in, giving her King an expectant look. Alice had been inclined to do the same, but decided against it once she noticed the interactions of the others at the table. Watching them was proving to be quite interesting, and to be honest she’d been wanting a chance to use her journalistic skills again. Being observant was her favorite part; there was just so much to see and uncover. For example, the way Monika and Felicia always maintained some kind of physical contact, whether or not they noticed it themselves, or the way that Queen Daniel of Clubs kept shifting his gaze from King Anya, to Queen Sakura of Hearts, and then to Amelia. He must be worried about something between the three.

Those were the thoughts that Alice was stuck in when Amelia finally got the clue.

“Right! My opening remarks,” the King began at last. “Spades has finally found its new Queen, and as such request your recognition of her. Say hi, Alice.”

“Er, hello.”

Butterflies began to flutter in Alice’s stomach as the stares grew more intense, made even worse by the fact that she could see Amelia’s arm begin to move beside her. “Please don’t grab my hand,” she whispered lowly, so that only the intended recipient would hear.

“Sorry,” Amelia whispered back, looking truly apologetic. “Reflex.”

She hadn’t meant for it to come out as rude as it probably sounded, but Alice could hardly say anything to take it back now, not as the table erupted into conversation about her. None of it sounded as if it had to do with recognizing her as Queen or not; Queen Noah of Diamonds was trying to welcome her over the din, Anya giggled about something to do with the balance of power, and Francoise criticized her fashion sense (though, once again, Alice could not get over the _orange_ ).

“Any objections?” Monika asked loudly. “Before we get into anything else!”

Nobody had the chance to answer.

With a flash of light and a sound like thunder, Julchen the Joker arrived at the meeting. She stood in the middle of the table, hands on her hips, and grinned down at Alice as if she’d saved the day. “There better not be any objections!” She laughed. “That’d be a bit awkward, considering.”

Several shouts of ‘Julchen!’ and ‘White Rabbit!’ arose from those seated, but all were quieted with a wave of the Joker’s hand. Whether it was by magic or intimidation Alice didn’t know, but she suddenly felt warier of the woman than she had before. “I’ve been looking for you,” the Queen said calmly.

“Ha! So I’ve heard, and here I am.”

This was it. Now was her chance to end this whole predicament before it got out of hand. “I would like you to send me home please.”

Julchen disappeared, then flickered back into existence beside Monika. The King of Hearts was staring at her in disbelief, which earned her a wink and pinch to her cheek from the white-haired girl. “Will do, _Schatz_ , but you see… we have businesses here first. I wouldn’t want to cheat these people out of a shining hero.”

“ _Julchen_!” Someone finally cried from the crowd. It was Jack Anneliese of Clubs. She’d pushed herself out of her chair and into a standing position, her chair falling on its back behind her. “What is- What are you _doing_ here?”

A flicker of emotion that Alice couldn’t decipher flashed over the Joker’s face as she acknowledged the certainly surprised woman, and it was obvious that she wasn’t the only one as Anneliese began to take a step closer before Julchen disappeared again. She reappeared at the head of the table this time.

“It’s pretty simple, actually,” Julchen continued, back to her original upbeat attitude. “I’m here to help you guys out with the meeting.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack Heidi of Diamonds asked, eyes betraying her mistrust. Now that the silence had been broken, everyone seemed more inclined to speak up. “You haven’t cared before.”

“Like I said, Alice is the difference! I had to make sure none of you would mess this thing up,” Julchen grabbed her own elbows and shivered as if she’d been hit by a winter wind. “That future isn’t the brightest, let me tell you. Why would any of you think I brought her here if it wasn’t for a purpose?”

Amelia’s gaze slipped from Julchen to Alice; she seemed even more confused as Julchen continued to talk, but she spoke with some authority despite this. “What are you planning for her? I won’t let you make this a repeat of S-… last time.”

“Don’t hate the messenger; that disaster wasn’t my fault,” Julchen looked indignant as she took to circling the table, keeping her eyes locked on Amelia as she went. “You know, you’ll have to let go of that sometime. It doesn’t end well for you if you don’t. The same goes for that unhealthy power thing, and I would know, I’ve seen it. Better yet, just learn to let go of all that bitterness junk in general.”

Alice honestly couldn’t imagine there being a bitter bone in Amelia’s body, so she was in for quite a surprise when-

“SHUT UP!” Amelia whipped her head around to face Julchen and point an accusatory finger in her direction. “Shut up! You don’t know me, and you don’t know a _thing_ about what’s going to happen to me or to Alice!”

“Don’t I? I’ve done a pretty good job of guessing so far.” Julchen snorted.

Before she could even properly process what she was doing herself, Alice had thrown herself forward to grasp Amelia around the waist. It should have been embarrassing, but the girl was finding it hard to feel anything but mortified at the fact that she had to physically restrain the King to keep her from attacking Julchen. “I will hit you so hard you’ll feel it _yesterday_!” Amelia roared.

“Stop right this moment!” Monika shouted, apparently recovered from her earlier shock and ready to end the nonsense. “Julchen, explain what you mean clearly and concisely.”

“Fine, if you want to take the fun out of it,” Julchen giggled. Without warning she did her vanishing act one last time, so that she was on the table once again crouching directly in front of Alice. “This girl is going to save us all from our biggest threat, so I suggest you take to her kindly. Do with that what you will.”

With that, she was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am so sorry for the long wait. I don't have a lot of time to work on this throughout the week, but I promise that however long it takes I will continue writing it! This chapter's the longest so far (brace yourselves, and I'm sorry), but there isn't too much Amelia (so, again, sorry). Thanks for reading and being so patient with me.

The pavilion fell eerily silent once Julchen was gone, everyone’s eyes falling back to Alice as she fidgeted nervously in her seat. She had no more of an explanation for what had just happened than anyone else did, yet the confusion in the air was palpable, and each and every person there expected Alice to clear it away. What was she supposed to say? “I don’t understand,” is what escaped her lips, sounding even more incredulous out loud than in her thoughts.

“I do!” Anya replied suddenly, raising her hand in the air like a child. “The White Rabbit explained it well, I think! Queen Alice is going to save us all, so she belongs in Clubs, no?”

“That is _not_ what Julchen meant!” Amelia huffed. Her eyes narrowed as if challenging the other to continue. “That is, if you all are going to put any stock in what she says.”

Chun-Yan nodded her agreement. “Amelia is right; Julchen’s intent was obviously that you recognize Alice’s appointment as Queen of Spades.”

“Oh ho ho~! I don’t think that’s what she meant at all,” Now Francoise had become involved as well. She blew a kiss in Alice’s direction that the girl returned with another, less genteel gesture. “Do we all not agree that Diamonds is the safest place to house a treasure? We’ve done a nice job of taking care of your finances so far.”

At this Heidi seemed to swell with pride, and it became apparent that she shared her King’s belief. “Diamonds is the safest of all kingdoms. It’s only common sense that we keep her.”

“Keep me? Am I an object?” Alice seethed as the argument became louder and louder, all parties yelling at the others about how they should be the one to hold Alice in their kingdom. Even Amelia wasn’t exempt from the awful racket; she hollered just the same as the others, though Alice could not find it within herself to begrudge the girl for it. At the very least, the King of Spades was arguing for Alice’s sake.

Despite her annoyance, Alice was prepared to simply wait out the fighting. It would have been no good to try and yell over the others, and clearly no one cared for her opinion anyways, but her patience disappeared altogether as the argument strayed into dangerous territory.

“Alice is staying in Spades and that is final!” Amelia roared, banging her open palm upon the surface of the table. She was quite obviously distressed, and quite obviously being ignored. Everyone was. There was no doubt in Alice’s mind that all present were content to yell for the sake of it while completely disregarding all who disagreed with them all night. “If I hear one more proposal about taking her, I will call in my soldiers!”

“Trust it to be _Amelia_ who offers to break the truce!” Francoise scoffed, finally acknowledging her former friend’s words. “Ever the militant leader. If you hand Alice over to Diamonds, I may still let my last offer stand; we all know how much your kingdom needs it to back up your empty threats of violence.”

“They’re not empty, _Frannie_ ,” Amelia hissed back. The King of Diamonds gasped in scandalized shock. “And I don’t want your stupid offer, so leave it alone.”

Chun-Yan reached across the table to tug at Amelia’s sleeve, nearly getting hit by the larger’s whirling about to face her. “Do not start something we will regret,” Chun-Yan warned.

It worked and Amelia deflated visibly. Her anger had been unbelievable to Alice, who’d only ever seen her angry once (briefly). Was this why she had fallen out with all of her former friends? Was this what Alice had to look forward to if she decided to stay in Spades until such a time that Julchen sent her home? No matter what, it was too late, and now there were bigger problems at hand. Perhaps Amelia had been tamed, but the other monarchs had become more agitated than ever.

Anneliese whispered into Anya’s ear, violet eyes locked on the three rulers of Spades. The King nodded and folded her hands in her lap, smiling sweetly. “King Amelia speaks as though she wants war. Are you prepared to do so without the Jabberwock? And are you prepared to see your kingdom fall into ruin once again when we give it?”

That was the last straw. “All of you, stop it right this instant!” Alice hollered, jumping to her feet. Every face turned to her with surprise; even Amelia looked as though she couldn’t believe her eyes. Wasn’t that so ironic? _Don’t think we won’t have a conversation about your own temper later,_ the Queen thought, mind reeling from her own surprises. _You should have known by now that_ I _wouldn’t suffer this nonsense._

The others all looked ready to speak above her until the sound of someone’s irritated throat-clearing rang out. “Let Alice speak,” Monika commanded threateningly, stopping all others in their tracks. Queen Sakura nodded to that.

“Thank you,” Alice returned gratefully. “The decision of where to stay in your world is my own, and I want to stay in Spades. Besides, none of us know what Julchen meant, you selfish-“ Okay, perhaps she shouldn’t test her luck, but an insult had almost slipped out in the heat of the moment. She had probably best backtrack. “I mean- who even knows that I will save you from anything? I’m not exactly the heroine type, and in any case, I’m only a human being!”

“Well said,” Monika praised her once she’d finished, shooting glares at Anya, Amelia, and Francoise. “We will not be treating our fellow monarchs as objects. If that is what Alice wants, then that is what Julchen would have wanted, and that is what shall be. Any objections?”

Shockingly enough, there were none. To be fair though, Alice wouldn’t have argued with Monika in that moment either, not when she held such an air of authority. It was almost scary.

Beside her, Alice heard Amelia heave a sigh of relief before standing up and offering her hand to the queen. The whole meeting had been exhausting for Alice, and she could only guess how draining it must have been for the other as well, seeing as she’d threatened- not one- but two different women and nearly declared war. Maybe Alice would brew up some tea for them once they arrived back at the castle. That is, while they discussed what Julchen meant by ‘that disaster’ and ‘let go of all that bitterness.’

“Meeting adjourned,” Monika announced, obviously tired, as everyone began to move briskly away from the pavilion. “We’ll not let this ruin the current treaty, understand?”

Alice wondered if she was the only one who heard a faint laugh at that.

 

Days passed since the meeting in a blur of small outings and little information. Since there were no more intensive lessons to be had, Alice suddenly found that she had an abundance of free time. It was awful.

Though she did have much more to learn about Spades while she was living in it, neither Chun-Yan nor Amelia could spend as much time teaching her. The extent of her own royal duties was to speak with the other Queens about peace negotiations, but as all four kingdoms were currently under a truce, there were no conversations to be had. The only time that Alice felt useful was when she visited the nearby capital city. She was never allowed to stay long without a guard or Amelia, but Alice enjoyed listening to the suggestions made by the citizens about how to improve the kingdom, and there was a feeling to the busy streets that reminded her of London (…despite the obvious differences in technological advancements). There were also an abundance of rumors spreading about her that Amelia loved to laugh about when they finally had the opportunity to spend time together (“Long hair the color of sunshine,” the King had giggled after hearing one herself. “Eyes the color of our own green seas! My favorite is the one about your unique voice, like a songbird.” Alice had hit her with a book about Clubs military tactics). Alice wasn’t exactly sure how to feel about those, but the overwhelmingly positive reception gave her some confidence.

When Alice would return from these ventures she’d eat with Amelia and Chun-Yan, though the tea tasted odd and the conversation never revealed any information that she wanted. Of course she’d asked on several occasions, but one or the other always found a way to change the subject completely. What event was Julchen referring to that wasn’t her fault? “Speaking of faults, did you know Spades can have some nasty earthquakes?” Amelia replied nervously. Why was Amelia so sensitive to Julchen’s words? “Amelia is just sensitive in general,” Chun-Yan snorted. To which Amelia yelled that she was not, in fact, sensitive, which would have convinced Alice had she not known that they were purposely dodging her questions. So Amelia’s secrets remained under lock and key.

There was one day, however, that Alice found some very intriguing books. She spent a lot of time in the library to kill her boredom, and she often spent it in the politics and strategy sections. It was merely out of curiosity that the girl decided to migrate into a small alcove that held modern history.

Honestly, Alice wanted nothing to do with learning more about the world’s various monarchs, especially not when she’d started off on the wrong foot with many of them, but one particular book caught her eye as she passed. “The Late Queen Madeline?” She asked herself quietly before her eyes drifted to the author’s name. It was none other than Chun-Yan.

Upon further inspection of the book, Alice found it to be quite new. The binding cracked as she tenderly lifted the front cover. Dread welled up in her chest as she began to read, skimming hurriedly over the introduction. For some reason she felt as if she’d come across secret information even though this book was in the library and obviously Alice had a right to any information about her own kingdom- when had she started calling it _her_ kingdom?- even if it wasn’t something that Amelia had deemed important enough to tell her.

But oh, was this important.

“In Loving Memory of Queen Madeline of Spades,” Alice read softly, a note of bitterness creeping into her voice. “A beloved ruler, sister, and friend, lost too soon to the cruelty of war.” The shock might not have been so great if the portrait below did not depict a girl standing beside both Amelia and Chun-Yan, the caption reading: ‘Queen Madeline with her sister King Amelia and...”

“Your Majesty?” Someone called warily from the entrance. “Are you in here?”

“Coming!” Alice replied. She returned the book to its place on the shelf and made her way reluctantly to the door, promising herself to investigate later.

 

“You interrupted me in the middle of some very important work,” Alice huffed, glaring up at the visitor whom the servant in the library had called her about. Francoise had simply no manners and no idea when it was time to drop a lost cause. “For what? To beg me to come to Diamonds?”

“That was part of the plan, yes,” Francoise answered with not a hint of shame. “Though beg is a strong word. I am only reminding you that the offer remains. There’s more to my visit, though.”

The pair was sitting outside as the day had been blessed with sunshine. Alice preferred the rain, but even she had to admit that a bright sky was nice every once in a while, and Francoise had been adamant about speaking privately in the gardens. Amelia had put up a fight at that, but Alice had agreed if only to turn the other away without fear of losing her temper in front of the others. Thus, the two stayed seated amongst the blue and purple roses, bickering lightly.

“Out with it, then!” Alice snapped. “I don’t have all day to entertain you.” In reality she did, but her annoyance did not need to know that.

Francoise nodded patiently. “You and I have made such bad impressions on each other, have we not?”

“We have,” Alice agreed.

“Then I will not ask you to trust me when I tell you what I do; I ask only for you to consider it against your own experiences in this dreaded place.”

Calling Spades ‘this dreaded place’ was not earning Francoise many points, but Alice did not argue, eager to hear what the King had to say and be done with her.

“Despite what we say in meetings, Spades is strong,” Francoise began grimly, surprising Alice nearly into hysterics. “Yes, I will admit it, do not laugh! Even without a Queen they surpassed us all in war power. It makes one cocky. It’s made Amelia think she’s invincible.”

“I don’t disagree that she’s cocky,” Alice scoffed, cutting of Francoise as she began the next leg of her monologue. “I also don’t think that you have any room to talk.”

Letting out a short laugh, Francoise leaned in close so that they could speak in whispers. “You protect her, though you don’t know her past, do you? She would not have told. I am curious… what is your relationship?”

Their relationship was easy enough to explain: Amelia had needed Alice to be Queen (though to what extent was becoming more and more unclear), and Alice needed help getting home. What Alice hoped their relationship would become was… more difficult to articulate. She wanted to be friends with the girl, that much she would admit, even with the secrets and annoying habit of always grabbing people’s hands. Alice wanted to be important to Amelia. She wanted to be close to someone again. She wanted an ally, and maybe… more. Eventually. The thought had crossed her mind. Amelia was far from perfect, but Alice was still drawn to her. Amelia was lively and bright, beautiful and brave, but like hell was Alice going to say that.

“Ah, sometimes the silence speaks louder than words~,” Francoise giggled dreamily, moving away now to give Alice room to breathe. “In that case, you might want to ask about Madeline next time you get the chance and see how Amelia’s ruthlessness gets people hurt.”

There was Madeline again. How had Alice never heard of her before today? If she was truly Queen of Spades before Alice’s arrival, then surely someone would have said something about her. She would have heard her name in the capital, or Chun-Yan would have taught about her reign in their lessons, and if she was really Amelia’s sister, then the King would have mentioned something, right? “I already know about her,” Alice returned, hoping her voice sounded confident. Technically it wasn’t a lie; Alice did know _of_ Madeline, just not what had happened to her.

“No you don’t!” Francoise hissed, her face contorting from an expression of relative smugness to one of near hatred. “You do not know, because if you did then you would be begging _me_ to let you into Diamonds. Spades would not feel safe, especially not with this ridiculous race-“

“Race?”

“It never ends,” Francoise answered, suddenly calm. Even though Alice wanted to be annoyed with the other, it was difficult to feel anything but pity for someone who looked so dejected. “Around in circles we go, all hoping to keep power in the end. It’s a ridiculous game. We might as well be children fighting over a toy, only the toy is influence and our fights use whole armies.”

Suddenly everything made perfect sense, from Spades’s need of a new Queen to the heated arguments at the meeting. “It’s an arms race,” Alice breathed. “You’re in an arms race.”

Francoise nodded solemnly.

An arms race. It made so much sense now that Alice thought about it; they’d all wanted her as their best weapon. Every monarch who’d fought over her at that meeting was hoping that she’d been their ticket to being the most powerful kingdom, that Julchen had delivered her into their world to end the race… by deciding who won. How were they all so gullible? Alice had no special talents to offer outside of journalism and quick wit, really. Well, she was also fine at embroidery and guitar, she supposed, but that hardly constituted-

“That’s why I need you to do something for me,” Francoise reached inside of her cloak to remove a small package. “My dear Amelia is so standoffish towards me as of late, so she’d never accept a gift from me. You, however, can set this right in my place.”

She placed the package lightly in Alice’s palm, eyes betraying nothing and lips twisted up into a rueful smile. It wasn’t a heavy thing, barely pressing down against the skin of her hand, but the Queen could sense that something was amiss. It looked familiar. “Why a gift for someone you hate?”

“I do not hate her,” Francoise replied, looking sobered. “I loved her once… her and Madeline more than anything this world could offer. Honestly, I can’t bear to see her fall even more than she already has, taking everyone we care for with her. That is why I’ve come to set things right. Julchen has given you as the perfect means of doing so.”

The King stood, leaning forward to plant a chaste kiss on Alice’s cheek before turning back in the direction of the castle. “You’re Queen now,” she called back. “I hope that means closer relations for our kingdoms in the future!”

“What a character,” Alice muttered once she was out of sight. Shaking her head incredulously, the girl held the package closer to her eyes. The brown wrapping did nothing to give away its contents, but a wonderful smell wafted from it. The scent was all of Alice’s favorite foods combined, and she was hit with the urge to unwrap the gift and devour it herself before she realized.

_That particular brand of fairy food could grow you, shrink you, or kill you._

Francoise had asked her to poison Amelia.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... hi. Sorry again for the long-awaited updated. To be honest, this one's been written for a while, but it's gone through quite a bit of plastic surgery since then, and I'm still not entirely happy with it. Once again, really sorry!

“What are you doing?”

Amelia stood in the doorway, looking into the queen’s bedroom at the pair seated upon the bed. Both women were poring over several documents, and the queen smiled up at her fellow ruler sheepishly, combing her hands through on of her twin tails in embarrassment. “Sorry,” she apologized quietly. “Francoise and I were going over the alliance idea again, but you were asleep and we didn’t want to wake you.”

“Yes, you really should learn to regulate your sleeping schedule!” Francoise added in a motherly tone. She looked perfect as always, aside from the concerned scowl. Frowning didn’t suit Francoise, Amelia decided, and the sooner this whole business was done with, the sooner they could all go back to smiling.

“Too much to do at night,” Amelia yawned in response and shuffled to the bed. “It just wouldn’t be right to work in the mornings, kind of like how you two shouldn’t be negotiating alliances in the mornings. Maddie’s sick enough without working day in and day out.”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Madeline assured her sister, giving her a swift kiss on the cheek. “Really. I’d rather do business with Francoise than sit and do nothing.”

Francoise nodded in agreement. “It’s not even official business! It’s more like… _suggestions_. For when she talks to Noah.”

“It’s already that far along?”

“We’ve been discussing the possibility for quite some time now,” Francoise answered nervously. “So… yes. All that is left is to have the official meeting between the queens. Heidi is already aware and supports us, and Maddie has informed me that Chun-Yan is quite enamored with the idea as well. If all goes as planned, there should be no reason to postpone making the alliance a reality.”

Amelia was dumbfounded, but somehow she was able to envelope both girls in a crushing hug. “That’s amazing!” She cried. “How long have we been planning this out? It’s finally happening!”

No one answered as the three sat in happy silence, Madeline’s hand gently stroking her sister’s back and Francoise giggling in content. _Yes,_ Amelia thought with a swell of fulfillment rising in her chest. _This is how it’s supposed to be- all of us together._ Everything was right with the world when they were side by side… by side, and now they could finally be like that forever, two kingdoms against the world. Surely the people would be happy when they learned as well. “I was beginning to think that the whole idea was just some crazy dream!” Amelia sobbed, though the tears were anything but sorrowful. “I thought I would die before everything was set in place!”

“Don’t worry,” Madeline comforted her with a soft laugh. “You won’t. But I will.”

Amelia stiffened. “Maddie, what are you talking about?”

“You killed me, Amelia, and then you replaced me. Why would you kill me before everything we wanted could come true? Didn’t you love me?”

“Of course I did- do! Of course I love you! It wasn’t on purpose, I swear; I would never hurt you on purpose!” Amelia tried to force herself to let go of the other girls in order to look them in the face, but for some reason she couldn’t move. All of their grips remained iron, and the King of Spades began to thrash around in fear. Madeline’s touch was no longer comforting. Francoise’s nails were digging into her skin.

“What about afterwards? Was that an accident too?” Francoise hissed.

“Stop it!” Amelia cried. She sounded childish, but it was all she could think to do as the grips got tighter and the words got harsher, her breath coming shallower, and shallower, and shallower…

“Stop it, she says!” Francoise laughed. “Stop it! After all she’s done to us?”

A mock gasp sounded from all around them, so loud that Amelia whimpered and her two attackers stopped for one split second. Then, the room went dark, and Amelia was alone.

“Who’s there!?” She hollered, though her voice was rough from crying. Why had she been crying again? She should probably remember, but no matter how much she racked her brain there was no forthcoming answer. What a conundrum.

A familiar white-haired woman melted out of the shadows, her multi-colored eyes rimmed with red. “You messed up, Amy dear,” she growled. “You messed up big time.”

 

The blankets were tangled around Amelia’s legs when she finally awoke. She took a nervous breath before settling back down into the bed, but there was no way for her to get back to sleep, not after that. It really was weird; she couldn’t remember the dream at all, but she knew that it was something bad, something real, and something that had been her fault.

 

Alice paced back and forth across the room, biting her nails in frustration as she glanced over at the bucket she’d turned into a waste bin. It sat right next to her writing desk. She could feel its non-existent eyes boring into her very soul.

Had she done the right thing? What had she been thinking when she didn’t go to Amelia straight away with the possible poison? If she’d been in her right mind, Alice would have taken the tiny parcel, shown it to the king, and demanded that Francoise be apprehended at once for trying to off a fellow ruler. Surely that was the correct course of action. What had Alice actually done, though? Oh, just run back into the castle- straight up to her room- and thrown the stupid thing in the bucket. Then, feeling guilty, she’d avoided Amelia for the rest of the day.

Even if she wanted to, there was no way to come clean now. Everything that had been done was done, and days had now passed since the incident. Alice was stuck with the knowledge that Francoise was a ruthless killer, along with the means of becoming one herself. Why was she so stupid!?

There was another thought that continued to eat away at Alice’s mind, too… she hadn’t gone to Amelia directly, but what if it wasn’t simply because she had panicked? After all, she had just found out that the other was not only keeping secrets, but potentially dangerous ones as well. Despite feeling in her heart that her loyalty lay with Amelia no matter what, Alice couldn’t help but suspect herself of cowardice. It wasn’t like her, and she knew it, but the thoughts kept worming their way to the forefront of her mind at the most inopportune times. _I would never keep something like that because I was scared of Amelia,_ Alice thought desperately as she stopped in front of the offending bucket, staring down at its contents. _Amelia isn’t even scary to me, and I’m not- I’m not a turncoat or anything. I wouldn’t betray the people of Spades when they’ve done so much for me, least of all Amelia._

 

The weather was back to being cloudy and gray Alice noted as the pair walked along the cobblestone streets of the capital city. She’d donned a purple cloak and longer-than-usual dress to make sure she wouldn’t catch cold because of it, but even so she could feel the bite of the air. It was nice enough weather to enjoy from inside the castle, but out in the markets it was simply miserable. “How is it that you aren’t freezing?” She asked her companion through chattering teeth.

“How is it that you are?” Amelia laughed in response. She held out a hand and smiled encouragingly. “I think I’m a pretty warm person in general, though.”

Trying very hard not to blush, Alice placed her hand on top of Amelia’s and gasped as the king’s fingers suddenly intertwined with hers.

“Haha! It was a trap!” Amelia cackled. As much as the action was surprising (and was not helping anyone’s confused feelings), Alice didn’t bother with protesting. Holding hands was definitely nice, and it didn’t necessarily have to have romantic intentions behind it. She remembered holding hands with her sisters long before, but she shook the thought from her head rather quickly. In fact, she hadn’t been thinking of her family much at all since she’d somehow ended up in Spades. There’d been much more pressing matters to deal with, but now the girl felt guilt wash over her as she imagined forgetting her family altogether. Oh, what an awful thing to do!

“What are you thinking about?” Amelia inquired, looking down at the other with a face full of curiosity. She swung their basket of ingredients lazily through the air as they walked, nearly giving the girl with her a heart attack. It had taken forever to find the exact things that Alice needed to bake what she wanted, and she was not going to let this entire trip go to waste because of carelessness.

Alice snatched the basket back hurriedly, before any harm could be done to the items within. “Would you please refrain from playing with our food?”

“No, and don’t avoid the question!”

“You’re impossible,” Alice snapped before noticing the hurt on Amelia’s face. “Sorry. I was thinking about… family.”

“Your family?”

“Yes, my family.”

“… What about ‘em?”

“Just…” _About how I ruined my relationship with them and nearly forgot their existence when I came here? Yes, that’s the perfect way to make her like you._ However, opening up might have been just the push to get Amelia to tell her about Madeline. _So you can pass your judgment and then off her if you like,_ her mind hissed bitterly.

_Never,_ the other side of her retorted. _I don’t want to hurt Amelia; I only want to understand her._

 “Hello? Alice?”

“Huh? Oh. Right,” Alice sighed, back to the conversation at hand. “It’s just… my family and I have been out of touch for a while, and I was somewhat afraid that I’d… forgotten them since I came here.”

Amelia blinked in surprise. “Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“Forgetting my family? That would be awful!” Alice cried, unbelieving in the almost emotionless response. How could she say something so thoughtless?

“Why? I mean, if you weren’t talking to them anyways, and all the memory caused you was pain, why wouldn’t you want to forget?”

Alice seethed. “Because I love them, that’s why! Even if we never made up and they hated me for the rest of our lives, I would still want to _remember_ them! Forgetting all of the bad times erases the good ones as well. In any case, I don’t suppose anyone without siblings would understand.”

That should’ve done it. That should have been the very line for Amelia to get indignant and confess everything that she’d been hiding about Madeline (whatever it was). Alice could see it working as Amelia’s brows drew down and her lips formed a pout. The younger girl let out a huff and crossed her arms. “Hey!” She quipped. “That’s not true. Francoise was like an older sister to me, and Sakura and I used to say we were like family. That counts!”

Alice had absolutely no idea how to respond. She was never going to get it out of Amelia, was she? She was never going to learn the truth. “You really are unbelievable sometimes,” she sighed, stopping in front of a bookshop. “I’m going inside to buy some more books for the library. You… go annoy someone until I’m finished.”

Before Amelia could respond, Alice hurried inside and slammed the shop door closed behind her. She really couldn’t see how the other could be so heartless, but then again, she didn’t know what the king had been through. Amelia seemed adamant on keeping Madeline a secret, that or… she had really forgotten her, but that was impossible. No one could just forget their dead sister. It didn’t work that way.

“Hello, Your Majesty!” The shopkeeper chirped gleefully when she noticed her customer standing in the doorway, snapping the queen back into reality. “What are you here for today?”

The real reason that Alice had forced herself inside was simply to have a few moments to herself to think, but now that she was there, there might have been some practical use of that time. “Actually, I was wondering if you had any books on past queens of Spades. I haven’t much experience in the way of ruling, and I was wondering what they’d done.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that, Your Majesty! Everyone loves you from what I’ve heard, but if you truly want to look, they’re in the back.”

“Thank you very much,” Alice replied gratefully. She made her way into the back of shop and quietly perused the shelves for any book that suited her needs. There wasn’t a copy of the book by Chun-Yan, but there was a fairly new volume of Spades rulers that Alice guessed had the information she needed. However, there was no entry on a queen named Madeline.

Alice tried book after book to come up with more information, but no matter how many pages she flipped or passages she scanned there was no mention of the previous Queen of Spades. None of the books even mentioned Amelia having a sister at all, almost as if the one in the castle was the only record of her existence. Her name wasn’t even in an index. Surely, though, Madeline was in there somewhere? Alice cursed the lack of modern technology (not for the first time), desperately wishing that she could press CTRL F on a book. This was absolutely horrid.

At one point the shopkeeper came to ask if everything was alright before going back to sweep near the entrance, but by that time Alice had succumbed to defeat. There was nothing in Spades to help her in her search aside from the book at the castle library, and even that had mysteriously disappeared after her conversation with Francoise. Wait…

Maybe there was nothing in Spades…

“Alice?” Amelia called tentatively. She must have been standing in the front doorway. “Um, it’s been a little while and the carriage driver wants to head home soon, so…”

The King sounded oddly subdued, and Alice sighed out of exasperation. She couldn’t stay mad for long, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t somewhat irked, even if Amelia was being tame. “I’ll be there in a moment!”

When  Alice returned to the front of the room, Amelia was in deep conversation with the shopkeeper, smiling slightly but obviously concerned. Her short blonde hair was windblown and crazy, as if she’d either been running or caught in a tornado.

“Let’s go then,” Alice prompted.

“You’re not going to buy anything?” Amelia asked in confusion.

“Nothing to my tastes today, I suppose,” Alice replied easily, turning to give an apologetic look to the shopkeeper. “Sorry. I would like to give you something for your troubles anyways, if that’s quite alright.”

The shopkeeper merely smiled and made a shooing motion with her hand. “I daresay not! Having the both of you here is better than gold. Maybe next time you’ll bring Her Majesty the Jack as well!”

Upon promising to do so, both Alice and Amelia left the shop giggling. The sky was turning red with sunset as they made their way slowly back to the carriage, and Alice briefly hoped that her companion wouldn’t say anything, just let everything be as it was so that they wouldn’t have to discuss their earlier disagreement and ruin this beautiful moment full of laughter and warmth. She should have known that was too much to ask.

“Look,” Amelia started awkwardly, not meeting Alice’s eyes. “I’m sorry about earlier. That was probably really, really insensitive of me, and I shouldn’t have compared our lives like that. To be honest… I don’t know anything about you before you came here, but sometimes I forget that. I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer, so I can tell you more. Is that weird?”

So far this conversation wasn’t going as badly as Alice had predicted, so she took a deep breath and spoke almost without thinking. “No, that’s not weird. I feel the same way. It’s just that… I hardly know you either, and that can be scary at times.” Oh God, had she really said that out loud? “I-I mean it’s like getting into a car with a stranger, you see? You could be a crazy axe murderer for all I know.”

“Car?” Amelia inquired, tilting her head to the side in what looked like a mock imitation of a puppy. It was adorable and hilarious at the same time.

“Carriage,” Alice corrected herself. “I just… ugh! None of this is coming out correctly!”

“Yeah, and you’re supposed to be the articulate one,” Amelia teased, earning herself a tearful glare from the shorter woman. Suddenly her eyes went wide. “Are you… Alice, are you crying?”

Yes, she was, and it made her want to shrivel up and die. “No, I most certainly am not,” she snapped, but the statement lost most of its bite as it was interrupted by a choking sob. Why now? Why did she have to be crying _now_ of all times? Of course she was overwhelmed by all of the events of these past… however long she’d been in Spades now, what with the meeting, the poison, Madeline, and now arguing with Amelia, but that didn’t mean- crap, she was crying harder now. Everything was too complicated!

The pair was almost upon the carriage. Alice forced herself to hold her breath in an attempt to stop her episode long enough to get past the coachman and footman (purposely ignoring that fact that her red face would easily give her away), but Amelia shook her head, motioned for Alice to stay put, and went to speak with the two men. After about two minutes of what looked to Alice like frustrated bickering, both the driver and the footman walked off.

“Wh-What’s that all about?” Alice sniffed. “You’ve lost our ride home.”

“No, we still have the carriage, and we’re not going home yet.” Amelia gave a playful smile before hopping up onto the driver’s bench and holding out a hand to Alice. “It’ll be fun. I think we’ve earned some time off.”

“All day’s been time off,” Alice countered, but she took Amelia’s hand anyway, feeling out of place outside of the box. Although, it wasn’t an entirely bad feeling; in a way, seeing the street from above was freeing. “And where do we plan on going?”

The carriage lurched as Amelia gave hell to the reigns, causing Alice to nearly topple over and into the street. Perhaps allowing the King of Spades to try and drive a carriage by herself was not a good idea, but it was too late now as they sped through the city. “We’re going somewhere special!” Amelia yelled over the wind.

Alice hoped they wouldn’t die before they got there.

 

Amelia’s ‘somewhere special’ was the Bandersnatch cliff. Needless to say, Alice was not entirely keen on staying there.

“We’re not going all the way up,” Amelia snorted as she removed herself from the bench. “I like to sit here at the bottom sometimes. What do you think I was on my way to do when we met?”

“Be an annoying prat, I suppose?” Alice answered innocently, giving an amused smile when Amelia gasped a little too dramatically.

“I don’t know what that means, but it must be the highest compliment in England because there is no way you would ever insult me,” Amelia returned with a laugh. She held out her hand once again, and this time Alice took it happily. When her foot slipped on the on the coachman’s step and she found herself falling into the other girl’s arms, she couldn’t find it within herself to be annoyed. Suddenly they were wrapped up in each other, and then, apparently, Alice’s weight was too much to hold, and they fell to the ground.

“You okay?” Amelia asked, a smile playing brightly on her lips.

“Yes,” Alice answered, trying to keep her own smile in check. “Are you?”

“Yes,” Amelia giggled. “But, uh… this position is just a bit painful.”

Scrambling to remove herself from her friend’s body, Alice fell onto the grass with a soft ‘thump.’ On her back she could see the stars beginning to peek through in the sky above. They were beautiful, and once the sky turned black they could be seen in thousands upon thousands, glittering silver in the sky. She’d never seen anything like it. “Wow,” she breathed. “I can see why you enjoy this.”

They sat like that, silent once again for what was easily five minutes, until Amelia spoke. “How long will you stay?”

“We don’t know, remember?” Alice replied, feeling slightly irked. “Julchen won’t send me back until I ‘save the world,’ and then there’s the whole thing with the clock wanting me as queen for four years-“

“No. Not how long until you _can_ leave,” Amelia cut her off midsentence, eyes on the stars. “I know that. How long will you _stay_? There’s a difference.”

Oh. There was no easy answer to that question, at least not truthfully. From the beginning, Alice’s plan was to stand in as queen only until she could go home, but now… she didn’t know. She’d almost forgotten her family. She’d almost forgotten going home at all, caught up in politics and visiting the citizens. Hard as it was to believe, Spades was becoming home. Alice had friends here. She had a crush here. She had people who believed she was worth something here, people who looked up to her and spread nice rumors about her. In the end, her best answer was, “How long do you need me?”

“No, don’t ask that, bad question,” Amelia said in near panic. Alice had no idea why, but it hurt to hear.

“How long will you have me, then?” Alice asked this time.

Amelia smiled prettily. “As long as you want to stay.”

If Alice wasn’t in control of her emotions again she might’ve started crying once more. It was a good thing she’d managed to get a hold of herself. “What if I wanted to go home?”

“I’d let you go,” Amelia replied truthfully. “Obviously. I’d only ever want you where you want to be, as confusing as that sounds. If you truly care for someone, you set them free.”

Alice looked over at Amelia in wonder. “That’s a saying back in my world, too,” she smiled. “’If they never come back, they were never yours in the first place.’”

“’But if they do they were yours all along,’” Amelia finished happily. There was a sparkle in her sky blue eyes that made Alice suck in a breath. “Exactly! Some truths are universal, huh?”

Feeling elated at the turn of events, Alice couldn’t help but to follow Amelia’s usual pattern and reach out to grab her friend’s hand. “If I didn’t know you better I might mistake you for an intellectual spouting lines like that.”

At first Amelia jumped at the contact, but then she squeezed back and matched her gaze. Laying there, underneath the stars and simply enjoying each other’s company, Alice finally let herself let go of all that she’d been holding inside her. Right now, none of it mattered. Going home would happen later. Finding out about Madeline would happen later. Learning Amelia’s past would happen later. Facing Francoise would happen later. All that needed to happen right now was holding hands and finding constellations.

“Hey,” Amelia whispered softly, rubbing her thumb across the back of Alice’s hand. “Tell me about your family.”

“I don’t know if that’s best,” Alice replied, her heart thrumming like a war drum in her chest. “It’s… complicated.”

“That’s okay; we’re friends. I won’t laugh. Probably.”

With one deep sigh to signify her reluctance, Alice began to explain. “I have a pretty large family. My sisters and I were raised by our father. We all picked on each other, but it was never… never anything that could really hurt anyone. You know how those things are. We could make each other’s lives miserable, but no one else was allowed to. Then I got my first job as a journalist, I made a bad mistake, we had a falling out, and now we don’t speak.” She snorted before finishing, “And that’s my family. I still love all of them, and I hope they still love me.”

Amelia nodded solemnly. “I’m sure they do. That’s what families do right? They… they forgive each other.”

“It was a _very_ bad mistake,” Alice whispered.

There was another moment of silence, this one short and tense, until Amelia shrugged her shoulders and hauled herself up off the ground. “Well!” She chirped. “That’s all behind us now! Enough sad talk, let’s go home and have cake. That always makes me feel better.”

Alice nodded, following the other back to the carriage.

 

When the king and queen arrived back at the castle, Chun-Yan rushed out to meet them. Alice had the decency to feel embarrassed; they’d simply taken off at sunset without telling a soul where. Everyone in the castle must have been catatonic.

“Before you yell at me, just know that I admit leaving out of nowhere was a bad decision, but things have been really stressful lately, and-“ Amelia was sharply cut off by the sound of Chun-Yan slapping her across the cheek.

“You- I was so worried something had happened you idiot!” The Jack screeched, surprising Alice to the point of grasping the cloth on her chest in shock. This wasn’t like her at all. If she was this upset… “Clubs has found the Jabberwock, Anya is holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss her terms, and I thought you’d found out and taken off to do something rash like last time. Don’t- Don’t scare me like that!” Having said her piece, Chun-Yan sniffed and escaped inside the castle before anyone could say another word. Carefully, Alice reached out to touch Amelia’s arm, but the other pulled away and followed Chun-Yan, footsteps like bombs in Alice’s ears in the silence.

The brief moment outside of time underneath the cliff was over, and now everything was back to being as complicated and painful as ever. There were still secrets being kept. There were still mysteries to be uncovered. There was still anger and drama between all of the monarchs. There was still poison in Alice’s bedroom.


	7. Chapter 7

Everything was falling apart. Amelia and Chun-Yan wouldn’t explain a thing to Alice about what all of this meant, the King seemed stressed beyond all belief, and tensions in the castle were at an all-time high. No one inside got even a wink of sleep, not even the servants, who had been told to take the night off in light of recent events. Alice knew because she had gone to check up on them, only to find the room bustling with activity. The younger ladies were massaging each other’s shoulders and brushing each other’s hair in an attempt to keep calm while the older women crouched in circles to pray. The fear in the air was palpable.

“Is there… anything I can do for you?” Alice asked awkwardly, her mouth as dry as cotton. She had changed out of her dress and into a nightgown, a fact that did not go unnoticed (she feared that she’d offended some of them by refusing to let them dress her) and did not help her embarrassment as every face in the room turned to her in shock.

One frail-looking girl- she couldn’t have been more than fourteen- attempted to wipe the tears from her face before replying, but more only fell in the attempt. “I’m afraid there’s nothing _anyone_ can do, Your Majesty!” She wailed. “Clubs has the Jabberwock and will surely destroy us all!”

“Sammy!” One of the others gasped, this woman slightly older, before slapping the crying girl on the shoulder. “They will not! Queen Alice will make a deal with them, won’t you, Your Majesty?”

Alice was completely taken aback by the statement. “M-Me? I’ve no idea-“

“Of course!” Another woman called enthusiastically. “We have a queen now! Such a smart one, too- smart enough they’ll have to make a deal! This is exactly what you’ve been training for!”

They were right, obviously. In the normal turn of events there in Cardverse, the queen would step in to negotiate a peace between the kingdoms, wouldn’t they? Alice had known that. She’d been receiving some training for it, but never had she expected to actually have to use it. There was no way she actually _could_ use it. Sure, she’d been in Spades for a little while now, and sure she knew more of their politics than she had in the beginning, but it still wasn’t enough. She had no delusions about her abilities. A native like Queen Daniel would have her down and out in seconds.

“I think it would be best to rely on Amelia and Chun-Yan,” Alice supplied. “I’m not much of a queen at all, really. I’ve only been here a very short while.”

But everyone had already made up their minds, it seemed. In the end, they would take nothing less from her, instead shooing her off to “prepare for tomorrow.” Unsure of what else to do, Alice went to see her friends.

Both Amelia and Chun-Yan were surrounded by an array of papers, eyes barely open with bags underneath. The king was slumped over the table. The jack looked about to do the same. Never upon meeting them would Alice think that they could look so defeated, or that the sight would make her heart split so painfully in two. “You can’t deal with this alone,” she stated softly. “Spades is my kingdom too now, and I want to help!”

For a few heart-shattering moments, Alice thought they were going to turn her away, but Amelia finally grunted a broken “fine” and Chun-Yan pulled up an extra seat. “There isn’t much we _can_ do, honestly,” the oldest sighed, pushing her papers to the side. “With possession of the Jabberwock, Clubs could demand anything they wanted and we would have to comply. The only other choice is annihilation.”

“That’s certainly dark,” Alice muttered. “What is it, anyways? The Jabberwock?”

Now that she thought about it, Alice had heard of the mystery object before. It was during the meeting, the same day that she’d met Francoise. Anya had said something about being prepared to fight without the Jabberwock. So it must have been a weapon of some sort?

This time it was Amelia who spoke, face still flat against the table. “Technically it’s a kind of monster, but it’s also the name of the staff that summons it. If you control the Jabberwock, you control everyone. It’s a really bad situation.”

“Would it be possible for me to negotiate a peace?” Alice asked, unsure of which answer would be worse. She wanted to help to the best of her ability, but the idea that the wellbeing of every citizen of Spades lay on her inexperienced shoulders was terrifying.

Amelia’s head shot up off of the table at the same time that Chun-Yan nearly fell out of her chair. “No way!” Amelia commanded. “The meeting was one thing- you didn’t have to do too much there- but this is totally different! Tell her, Chun-Yan!”

For once, the jack actually seemed to be in agreement. “Amelia is right. This is far too dangerous a situation to put you in.”

“Exactly! Negotiation’s a bust at this point, anyways,” Amelia finished with a nod, obviously pleased with the other’s cooperation.

Alice let herself breathe. Okay. They were going to find another way around this. There were other ways to be useful. “What are we doing in here, then?”

“Preparing for the worst,” Chun-Yan answered her, voice low. “If it comes down to it… we need a way to save some people, at least.”

 

The next morning came faster than anyone wanted. Sleep-deprived and scared, all tenants of the castle were jittery as the monarchs left on horseback. They didn’t bring the carriage; Anya had requested (which at this point meant demanded) that no one bring any civilians, which included the coachman and footman, and Alice was adamant about not having Amelia drive. As a result, all three rode to the meeting on separate horses.

On most occasions, Alice would be happy for the time to herself. There wasn’t much talking as the trio galloped across the countryside. However, with all that was going on, she was craving a normal conversation to take her mind off of things. Something like _‘how are you doing today, Alice? Is that new book you were reading good? Do you think today is a good day for a picnic?_ The silence was driving her mad. By the time they arrived at the meeting, she was feeling even more nervous than before.

 

“Time to begin!” Anya giggled as Alice, Amelia, and Chun-Yan took their seats at the table. The pavilion was eerily quiet as the King of Clubs folded her hands and nodded to her queen, who stood with a rigid formality. “You are all aware of the current situation,” Daniel began, clearing his throat and looking nearly as uncomfortable as everyone else. “The Jabberwock is currently in Clubs possession. We do not intend to use it for violent purposes as long as civility is maintained on your behalf.”

There was no comment from the assembled leaders.

Daniel continued, “All we ask is that you listen and cooperate with our requests. First, we ask that all alliances be broken until we can otherwise approve them.”

“You can’t do that!” Francoise interjected, covering her own mouth as soon as the words had left. Heidi and Noah turned their heads to her in shock, each with equal expressions of abject horror. They weren’t the only ones, either; every face in the room held fear, including Amelia, who looked ready to spring into action the moment a threat was made. The King of Diamonds quickly went back on her words. “I-I mean, alliances take time and work to make a reality, you cannot put on hold what has been in motion for years. It would be detrimental to your kingdom as well, no? Were you and Noah not discussing relations the other day?”

“Do not think of it as ruining your work,” Anya replied, her voice sweet and calm, though the effect it had was quite the opposite. “We are not trying to punish you. This is best for all kingdoms in the end. You see, with no awkward, complicated alliances pitting the four of us against each other, we can all work in peace. We can all be each other’s allies. It will be much more productive this way. Any objections?”

Francoise shook her head, tears at the corners of her eyes. No one else objected.

“Will we really just do as they say?” Alice whispered to Amelia in frustration. “This is nothing short of bullying!”

“There’s nothing else to do. Unless it directly affects the safety of our citizens, I’m not going to fight it, and neither is Chun-Yan,” Amelia shouted back. Her hands were clenched underneath the table, balling up the fabric of her trousers. “Though I really wish I could.”

“Second,” Daniel went on, “We all end this irrational rivalry. No more fighting over power or weapons. In fact, we will all reduce the size of our armies.”

“That’s hypocritical,” Felicia grumbled from the other end of the table.

“Excuse me?” Daniel stared at her incomprehensibly. “I believe I said we all will do so. Clubs will follow these rules as much as we ask you to. Would you like to share your reasoning with the class?” He ended with a patronizing comment, eyes narrowed.

“Yes!” Felicia barked back. “It’s no fair to say that you’ll reduce the size of your army if you have the Jabberwock! We’ll have no way to protect ourselves!”

“Felicia, now is not the time,” Monika ordered, obviously attempting to be reasonable in the face of such a serious threat, but her jack would have none of it.

“It _is_ the time! If we let them get away with this now, they’ll never stop!”

“Calm down, Felicia; you’re being unreasonable,” Anneliese sighed.

“I am not! Fight me!”

Amidst the sudden yelling, Alice began to wonder if Julchen would appear to break up the fight like last time, but if the White Rabbit was watching, she remained hidden. It took several minutes to calm down Felicia to the point where she would no longer attempt to throw fists at the three rulers of clubs, but there was no Joker to be seen.

“We have the Jabberwock, yes, but it won’t be used against you as long as you comply with our requests! Is that not what I said earlier? Do any of you even bother to listen to me?” Daniel shook his head, hands to his temples, before continuing on with his speech. “Once it is clear that the requirements have been met and will continue, the Jabberwock will be returned to its rightful place.”

“Which is… where, exactly?” Amelia inquired with fake innocence.

Anneliese barked out a laugh. “Come now, King Amelia, we both know you aren’t that stupid, and neither is Clubs. You’ll just run off and get it the moment change is made and undo all of our hard work.”

“Ha! You admitted I’m not stupid,” Amelia laughed bitterly.

“Don’t get too happy,” Anya commented, tone suddenly much harsher. “She said you weren’t _that_ stupid. In any case, won’t you let Daniel continue?”

He did. “Our third request is that Queen Sakura of Hearts release all Clubs prisoners currently awaiting execution, as well as issue an official apology to the families of those already killed.”

Sakura nodded solemnly, her expression stiff. “As you wish.”

“Finally, we also request that Queen Alice of Spades be turned over to Clubs. She shall not be harmed or-“

“ _NO!_ N-O. That’s not happening,” Amelia asserted, eyes wide. “What in the world makes you think you can just take the Queen of Spades? You can’t. She’s staying with me and that’s final.”

“Yes, we settled this last time. Alice is to stay where she wants to, and that has been established as Spades,” Chun-Yan argued, more composed than her counterpart, but still just as plainly nervous. Alice gulped. When Chun-Yan was nervous, everyone else should be too.

“I am re-opening the conversation,” Anya replied. She removed the fur hat from her head and began to run it over with her fingers, lilac eyes serene. “Julchen has stated that she will save us all. I only wish to keep her safe until she can fulfill that destiny.”

“I think maybe she’s supposed to save us from you,” Amelia hissed, visibly shaking. “I think she’s going to save us from you and all the tyranny you’ve been trying to force on us. If you want to take her, go ahead and try. Unless you plan on destroying all of Spades right now, I will _not_ let you take her away from me like you have every other decent person in my life!”

“This is getting out of hand, Amelia!” Chun-Yan looked at Anya, eyes pleading. “Give us time to think about it, please. Alice is family. This decision is very important.”

Anneliese shook her head, mouth shaped to deny the request, when Anya cut her off. “Of course. All of you are allowed one week to decide.”

“What!? A-Anya!” Anneliese cried. She looked more distraught than any face that Alice had seen the whole meeting. That was certainly odd. Why Anneliese so upset by giving the others time to decide? Alice had no time to ponder the thought further, as she suddenly found herself being hoisted from her seat and travelling behind a running Amelia.

She was leaving the meeting early, and she was taking Alice with her. That just wouldn’t do. “Amelia!”

“Don’t tell me we should go back,” Amelia panted. They were coming upon the stables now. “That meeting is over for me. We have a week to come up with a plan to save both you and Spades, and I’m not wasting a minute of it.”

“Well, you could’ve asked first!” Alice dug her heels into the ground, causing both of them to stop abruptly, and ripped her arm from the king’s grasp. “Don’t treat me like they do, like I’m property to be bought and sold! Do you understand how demeaning that is?”

“I… I’m sorry, I only-“

“I know, you care and you don’t want to lose anyone else, but that is my decision to make! Ask me what I want.”

Amelia looked into Alice’s eyes, an action that would give her butterflies in any other circumstance, and spoke softly. “What do you want?”

“I want to speak with the others. The meeting is probably over by now, and there are some things I would like to clear up. I’ll ride back on my own, and when I get back and you’ve had time to calm down, we’ll speak about what is best for everyone.”

Without looking back to gauge the other’s reaction, Alice walked back to the pavilion, arms crossed over her chest. She’d tried to sound like she knew what she was going to do when she was talking to Amelia, but she really didn’t. What had she been trying to imply!? That she was going to give herself up!? Was that what she wanted to do?

… Is _that what I want to do?_ Alice thought. She could save a lot of people by complying, including all of those nice girls at the castle, who were counting on her to do what was best for Spades. Amelia and Chun-Yan might be upset, but they had survived before they knew Alice, and they could survive after she was gone. It wasn’t like she’d meant to stay forever anyways. They’d all known from the beginning  that there would come a day when she would have to leave (she tried to block the memory of the previous night from her mind, when she had come so close to saying she would stay. She had a responsibility to family back home). Staying in Clubs wouldn’t be permanent. Maybe… maybe this really was the better option. Save the people of Spades, save Chun-Yan and Amelia, and stop herself from making any more useless attachments that would only cause pain later.

“Ah! A-Alice. What are you doing back here?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Alice remembered the real reason why she’d come back to the pavilion.

Francoise stood at the table with Noah and Heidi, who were trying in vain to comfort her. “She’s been through a lot lately,” Noah informed Alice sadly, running one hand over the crying king’s back. “I think Anya just pushed her over the edge.”

“Noah, don’t admit that to enemy powers,” Heidi told him, but it sounded less like a reprimand and more like a reminder. This must have been the first time that Alice really looked at the two, because now she could see the obvious similarities. They had to have been related.

“Oh. Right,” Noah looked down in shame before intertwining fingers with Francoise. “Do you want to go back to the carriage?”

The blonde shook her head, softly untangling their hands and giving Noah a kiss on top of his head. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and wet, but they sparkled with gratefulness. “No, but thank you, my friend. I suppose Alice is here to speak business. Would you and Heidi wait for me there? Keep her from leaving without me,” she motioned toward Heidi with a small chuckle that Noah easily returned, though the concern had not left his eyes.

“Of course,” Noah replied. He tugged on Heidi’s sleeve, and within moments the two were gone.

Now that they were alone, Alice felt a twinge of unsureness. Perhaps now wasn’t the best time- not when Francoise was so emotional, and especially not with the threat hanging over them, but Alice didn’t know when she would ever get the chance to speak with her again. The King of Diamonds must have noticed the other’s hesitation, as she let out a short, bitter laugh. “Come now. Please don’t hold back because I am crying; you’ll only serve to wound me a small bit further.”

“I don’t want you to tell me about Madeline,” Alice began, causing Francoise to blink in surprise. “Just to get that out of the way. That is… yours and Amelia’s business, and she will tell me when she is ready. However, I don’t want either of us to be in the dark when it comes to the situation that the two of us have created together. You’ve obviously seen that I have not given your present to Amelia, nor do I plan to. I only want your promise not to continue with any plans to harm her. If not for me or her, then for Diamonds itself. It wouldn’t do for us three kingdoms to be divided during such trying times.”

There was at first no answer, both women staring into each other’s eyes quietly as the sun beat down upon the pavilion, until Francoise finally let out a breath and took a seat, looking on the verge of tears once more. “I will not,” she choked out at last. “Hurt her, I mean. It’s already happening again, and I don’t know what will happen if- I- I don’t want her gone, but I don’t know what’s right anymore! Surely no one can blame me f-for- not when… I only had to because- and you… do you understand? Their lives all depend on _me,_ me of all people! The blood is on my hands… Madeline’s blood is on my hands because I didn’t… couldn’t… I only wanted to save them…” Alice thought that she was going to break down into violent sobs once more, but past the heavy breathing nothing else happened. Once she was finally able to get herself under control again, Francoise looked up at Alice mutinously. “Are you happy now? Perhaps you have Amelia hiding somewhere, waiting to arrest me? Go ahead!” She swiveled her head around, surveying the area around them as if the King of Spades would pop out from any possibly hiding spot. “I’ve already failed everyone.”

Alice could only stare in disbelief. “Do you know what I’ve realized since coming to your world? Each and every one of you is incomprehensibly stupid.”

“I-I beg your pardon!?” Francoise squawked, the tears finally flowing down her face as though making up for every one that she had managed to hold back in double.

“Yes, that’s it! You are all imbeciles! Everyone is so set on solving problems by themselves that they don’t think about how their decisions influence others, you and Amelia worst of all. I can see how you’ve rubbed off on each other.” Francoise looked about to interject, but Alice wasn’t finished yet. She took a step forward so that the other was forced to look up at her. “If you all truly cared for one another, as you claimed the day you visited me, then you would learn to let each other help! And no, I have not told Amelia of your stunt, and now I know why. It’s because you both need help, and neither of you is going to get it if you keep if all you do is keep up your stupid fighting! Look around you! There are bigger problems to be solved!”

The older woman opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again in shock. Her expression contorted, but thankfully her tears actually began to recede. What with all of the tears that had been shed in these last twenty-four hours, Alice was beginning to get sick of the waterworks. After a few moments of this awkward situation, there was a relieved giggle from the king. “You… really are something.”

Now it was Alice’s turn to be confused. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means thank you, you insufferable jerk. You have a way with words, albeit a very… _harsh_ way. I needed that.”

“D-Don’t thank me!” Alice spluttered, cheeks warming up. “It’s not as if I’ve done anything but tell you off!”

“Ah, but you have!” Francoise stood from her chair and wrapped her arms around Alice, much to her surprise. “You agreed to help us _both._ If you can succeed in doing that, I’ll admit everything to Amelia myself.”

Alice groaned. What was she constantly getting herself into?

 

When Alice finally made it back to the stables, Amelia was brushing out the mane of the queen’s horse. The sight made Alice jump. She hadn’t been expecting the other to wait up for her, especially since she clearly remembered telling her not to. Amelia must have noticed her confusion, as she shyly avoided eye contact. “You don’t have to talk to me if you’re angry. I understand,” she began. “I just didn’t want you riding all the way back to the castle alone, since there’re highwaymen and wild animals and stuff. I didn’t think you’d brought anything to protect yourself with.”

She hadn’t, and it wasn’t that she was really that angry with Amelia, but Alice needed to get her thoughts together before deciding what to do. “Fine,” she relented. “But I’m still riding my own horse.”

“That’s exactly what I expected. Ready to go when you are.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness! It sure has been a while, hasn't it? Understatement of the century, I know, but I have no excuses. I'm not even in the Hetalia fandom anymore, but I remembered this fic, and the fact that I'd written a chapter forever ago (and by that I mean over a year ago) without ever publishing it, so here we are! I think I might actually finish it. Would anybody be interested? 
> 
> In any case, this is about the halfway point. Next chapter starts "book two" essentially- a large turning point in the direction of the story, so brace yourselves. And we may actually get to the PruAus soon!

Everything was falling apart. Amelia and Chun-Yan wouldn’t explain a thing to Alice about what all of this meant, the King seemed stressed beyond all belief but would let no one help her, and tensions in the castle were at an all-time high. No one inside got even a wink of sleep, not even the servants, who had been told to take the night off in light of recent events. Alice knew because she had gone to check up on them, only to find the room bustling with activity. The younger ladies were massaging each other’s shoulders and brushing each other’s hair in an attempt to keep calm while the older women crouched in circles to pray. The fear in the air was palpable.

“Is there… anything I can do for you?” Alice asked awkwardly, her mouth as dry as cotton. She had changed out of her dress and into a nightgown, a fact that did not go unnoticed (she feared that she’d offended some of them by refusing to let them dress her) and did not help her embarrassment as every face in the room turned to her in shock.

One frail-looking girl- she couldn’t have been more than fourteen- attempted to wipe the tears from her face before replying, but more only fell in the attempt. “I’m afraid there’s nothing _anyone_ can do, Your Majesty!” She wailed. “Clubs has the Jabberwock and will surely destroy us all!”

“Sammy!” One of the others gasped, this woman slightly older, before slapping the crying girl on the shoulder. “They will not! Queen Alice will make a deal with them, won’t you, Your Majesty?”

Alice was completely taken aback by the statement. “M-Me? I’ve no idea-“

“Of course!” Another woman called enthusiastically. “We have a queen now! Such a smart one, too- smart enough they’ll have to make a deal! This is exactly what you’ve been training for!”

They were right, obviously. In the normal turn of events there in Cardverse, the queen would step in to negotiate a peace between the kingdoms, wouldn’t they? Alice had known that. She’d been receiving some training for it, but never had she expected to actually have to use it. There was no way she actually _could_ use it. Sure, she’d been in Spades for a little while now, and sure she knew more of their politics than she had in the beginning, but it still wasn’t enough. She had no delusions about her abilities. A native like Queen Daniel would have her down and out in seconds.

“I think it would be best to rely on Amelia and Chun-Yan,” Alice supplied. “I’m not much of a queen at all, really. I’ve only been here a very short while.”

But everyone had already made up their minds, it seemed. In the end, they would take nothing less from her, instead shooing her off to “prepare for tomorrow.” Unsure of what else to do, Alice went to see her friends.

Both Amelia and Chun-Yan were surrounded by an array of papers, eyes barely open with bags underneath. The king was slumped over the table. The jack looked about to do the same. Never upon meeting them would Alice think that they could look so defeated, or that the sight would make her heart split so painfully in two. “You can’t deal with this alone,” she stated softly. “Spades is my kingdom too now, and I want to help!”

For a few heart-shattering moments, Alice thought they were going to turn her away, but Amelia finally grunted a broken “fine” and Chun-Yan pulled up an extra seat. “There isn’t much we _can_ do, honestly,” the oldest sighed, pushing her papers to the side. “With possession of the Jabberwock, Clubs could demand anything they wanted and we would have to comply. The only other choice is annihilation.”

“That’s certainly dark,” Alice muttered. “What is it, anyways? The Jabberwock?”

Now that she thought about it, Alice had heard of the mystery object before. It was during the meeting, the same day that she’d met Francoise. Anya had said something about being prepared to fight without the Jabberwock. So it must have been a weapon of some sort?

This time it was Amelia who spoke, face still flat against the table. “Technically it’s a kind of monster, but it’s also the name of the staff that summons it. If you control the Jabberwock, you control everyone. It’s a really bad situation.”

“Would it be possible for me to negotiate a peace?” Alice asked, unsure of which answer would be worse. She wanted to help to the best of her ability, but the idea that the wellbeing of every citizen of Spades lay on her inexperienced shoulders was terrifying.

Amelia’s head shot up off of the table at the same time that Chun-Yan nearly fell out of her chair. “No way!” Amelia commanded. “The meeting was one thing- you didn’t have to do too much there- but this is totally different! Tell her, Chun-Yan!”

For once, the jack actually seemed to be in agreement. “Amelia is right. This is far too dangerous a situation to put you in.”

“Exactly! Negotiation’s a bust at this point, anyways,” Amelia finished with a nod, obviously pleased with the other’s cooperation.

Alice let herself breathe. Okay. They were going to find another way around this. There were other ways to be useful. “What are we doing in here, then?”

“Preparing for the worst,” Chun-Yan answered her, voice low. “If it comes down to it… we need a way to save some people, at least.”

 

The next morning came faster than anyone wanted. Sleep-deprived and scared, all tenants of the castle were jittery as the monarchs left on horseback. They didn’t bring the carriage; Anya had requested (which at this point meant demanded) that no one bring any civilians, which included the coachman and footman, and Alice was adamant about not having Amelia drive. As a result, all three rode to the meeting on separate horses.

On most occasions, Alice would be happy for the time to herself. There wasn’t much talking as the trio galloped across the countryside. However, with all that was going on, she was craving a normal conversation to take her mind off of things. Something like _‘how are you doing today, Alice? Is that new book you were reading good? Do you think today is a good day for a picnic?_ The silence was driving her mad. By the time they arrived at the meeting, she was feeling even more nervous than before.

 

“Time to begin!” Anya giggled as Alice, Amelia, and Chun-Yan took their seats at the table. The pavilion was eerily quiet as the King of Clubs folded her hands and nodded to her queen, who stood with a rigid formality. “You are all aware of the current situation,” Daniel began, clearing his throat and looking nearly as uncomfortable as everyone else. “The Jabberwock is currently in Clubs possession. We do not intend to use it for violent purposes as long as civility is maintained on your behalf.”

There was no comment from the assembled leaders.

Daniel continued, “All we ask is that you listen and cooperate with our requests. First, we ask that all alliances be broken until we can otherwise approve them.”

“You can’t do that!” Francoise interjected, covering her own mouth as soon as the words had left. Heidi and Noah turned their heads to her in shock, each with equal expressions of abject horror. They weren’t the only ones, either; every face in the room held fear, including Amelia, who looked ready to spring into action the moment a threat was made. The King of Diamonds quickly went back on her words. “I-I mean, alliances take time and work to make a reality, you cannot put on hold what has been in motion for years. It would be detrimental to your kingdom as well, no? Were you and Noah not discussing relations the other day?”

“Do not think of it as ruining your work,” Anya replied, her voice sweet and calm, though the effect it had was quite the opposite. “We are not trying to punish you. This is best for all kingdoms in the end. You see, with no awkward, complicated alliances pitting the four of us against each other, we can all work in peace. We can all be each other’s allies. It will be much more productive this way. Any objections?”

Francoise shook her head, tears at the corners of her eyes. No one else objected.

“Will we really just do as they say?” Alice whispered to Amelia in frustration. “This is nothing short of bullying!”

“There’s nothing else to do. Unless it directly affects the safety of our citizens, I’m not going to fight it, and neither is Chun-Yan,” Amelia muttered back. Her hands were clenched underneath the table, balling up the fabric of her trousers. “Though I really wish I could.”

“Second,” Daniel went on, “We all end this irrational rivalry. No more fighting over power or weapons. In fact, we will all reduce the size of our armies.”

“That’s hypocritical,” Felicia grumbled from the other end of the table.

“Excuse me?” Daniel stared at her incomprehensibly. “I believe I said we all will do so. Clubs will follow these rules as much as we ask you to. Would you like to share your reasoning with the class?” He ended with a patronizing comment, eyes narrowed.

“Yes!” Felicia barked back. “It’s no fair to say that you’ll reduce the size of your army if you have the Jabberwock! We’ll have no way to protect ourselves!”

“Felicia, now is not the time,” Monika ordered, obviously attempting to be reasonable in the face of such a serious threat, but her jack would have none of it.

“It _is_ the time! If we let them get away with this now, they’ll never stop!”

“Calm down, Felicia; you’re being unreasonable,” Anneliese sighed.

“I am not! Fight me!”

Amidst the sudden yelling, Alice began to wonder if Julchen would appear to break up the fight like last time, but if the White Rabbit was watching, she remained hidden. It took several minutes to calm down Felicia to the point where she would no longer attempt to throw fists at the three rulers of clubs, but there was no Joker to be seen.

“We have the Jabberwock, yes, but it won’t be used against you as long as you comply with our requests! Is that not what I said earlier? Do any of you even bother to listen to me?” Daniel shook his head, hands to his temples, before continuing on with his speech. “Once it is clear that the requirements have been met and will continue, the Jabberwock will be returned to its rightful place.”

“Which is… where, exactly?” Amelia inquired with fake innocence.

Anneliese barked out a laugh. “Come now, King Amelia, we both know you aren’t that stupid, and neither is Clubs. You’ll just run off and get it the moment change is made and undo all of our hard work.”

“Ha! You admitted I’m not stupid,” Amelia laughed bitterly.

“Don’t get too happy,” Anya commented, tone suddenly much harsher. “She said you weren’t _that_ stupid. In any case, won’t you let Daniel continue?”

He did. “Our third request is that Queen Sakura of Hearts release all Clubs prisoners currently awaiting execution, as well as issue an official apology to the families of those already killed.”

Sakura nodded solemnly, her expression stiff. “As you wish.”

“Finally, we also request that Queen Alice of Spades be turned over to Clubs. She shall not be harmed or-“

“ _NO!_ N-O. That’s not happening,” Amelia asserted, eyes wide. “What in the world makes you think you can just take the Queen of Spades? You can’t. She’s staying with me and that’s final.”

“Yes, we settled this last time. Alice is to stay where she wants to, and that has been established as Spades,” Chun-Yan argued, more composed than her counterpart, but still just as plainly nervous. Alice gulped. When Chun-Yan was nervous, everyone else should be too.

“I am re-opening the conversation,” Anya replied. She removed the fur hat from her head and began to run it over with her fingers, lilac eyes serene. “Julchen has stated that she will save us all. I only wish to keep her safe until she can fulfill that destiny.”

“I think maybe she’s supposed to save us from you,” Amelia hissed, visibly shaking. “I think she’s going to save us from you and all the tyranny you’ve been trying to force on us. If you want to take her, go ahead and try. Unless you plan on destroying all of Spades right now, I will _not_ let you take her away from me like you have every other decent person in my life!”

“This is getting out of hand, Amelia!” Chun-Yan looked at Anya, eyes pleading. “Give us time to think about it, please. Alice is family. This decision is very important.”

Anneliese shook her head, mouth shaped to deny the request, when Anya cut her off. “Of course. All of you are allowed one week to decide.”

“What!? A-Anya!” Anneliese cried. She looked more distraught than any face that Alice had seen the whole meeting. That was certainly odd. Why Anneliese so upset by giving the others time to decide? Alice had no time to ponder the thought further, as she suddenly found herself being hoisted from her seat and travelling behind a running Amelia.

She was leaving the meeting early, and she was taking Alice with her. That just wouldn’t do. “Amelia!”

“Don’t tell me we should go back,” Amelia panted. They were coming upon the stables now. “That meeting is over for me. We have a week to come up with a plan to save both you and Spades, and I’m not wasting a minute of it.”

“Well, you could’ve asked first!” Alice dug her heels into the ground, causing both of them to stop abruptly, and ripped her arm from the king’s grasp. “Don’t treat me like they do, like I’m property to be bought and sold! Do you understand how demeaning that is?”

“I… I’m sorry, I only-“

“I know, you care and you don’t want to lose anyone else, but that is my decision to make! Ask me what I want.”

Amelia looked into Alice’s eyes, an action that would give her butterflies in any other circumstance, and spoke softly. “What do you want?”

“I want to speak with the others. The meeting is probably over by now, and there are some things I would like to clear up. I’ll ride back on my own, and when I get back and you’ve had time to calm down, we’ll speak about what is best for everyone.”

Without looking back to gauge the other’s reaction, Alice walked back to the pavilion, arms crossed over her chest. She’d tried to sound like she knew what she was going to do when she was talking to Amelia, but she really didn’t. What had she been trying to imply!? That she was going to give herself up!? Was that what she wanted to do?

… Is _that what I want to do?_ Alice thought. She could save a lot of people by complying, including all of those nice girls at the castle, who were counting on her to do what was best for Spades. Amelia and Chun-Yan might be upset, but they had survived before they knew Alice, and they could survive after she was gone. It wasn’t like she’d meant to stay forever anyways. They’d all known from the beginning  that there would come a day when she would have to leave (she tried to block the memory of the previous night from her mind, when she had come so close to saying she would stay. She had a responsibility to family back home). Staying in Clubs wouldn’t be permanent. Maybe… maybe this really was the better option. Save the people of Spades, save Chun-Yan and Amelia, and stop herself from making any more useless attachments that would only cause pain later.

“Ah! A-Alice. What are you doing back here?”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Alice remembered the real reason why she’d come back to the pavilion.

Francoise stood at the table with Noah and Heidi, who were trying in vain to comfort her. “She’s been through a lot lately,” Noah informed Alice sadly, running one hand over the crying king’s back. “I think Anya just pushed her over the edge.”

“Noah, don’t admit that to enemy powers,” Heidi told him, but it sounded less like a reprimand and more like a reminder. This must have been the first time that Alice really looked at the two, because now she could see the obvious similarities. They had to have been related.

“Oh. Right,” Noah looked down in shame before intertwining fingers with Francoise. “Do you want to go back to the carriage?”

The blonde shook her head, softly untangling their hands and giving Noah a kiss on top of his head. Her eyes were still red-rimmed and wet, but they sparkled with gratefulness. “No, but thank you, my friend. I suppose Alice is here to speak business. Would you and Heidi wait for me there? Keep her from leaving without me,” she motioned toward Heidi with a small chuckle that Noah easily returned, though the concern had not left his eyes.

“Of course,” Noah replied. He tugged on Heidi’s sleeve, and within moments the two were gone.

Now that they were alone, Alice felt a twinge of unsureness. Perhaps now wasn’t the best time- not when Francoise was so emotional, and especially not with the threat hanging over them, but Alice didn’t know when she would ever get the chance to speak with her again. The King of Diamonds must have noticed the other’s hesitation, as she let out a short, bitter laugh. “Come now. Please don’t hold back because I am crying; you’ll only serve to wound me a small bit further.”

“I don’t want you to tell me about Madeline,” Alice began, causing Francoise to blink in surprise. “Just to get that out of the way. That is… yours and Amelia’s business, and she will tell me when she is ready. However, I don’t want either of us to be in the dark when it comes to the situation that the two of us have created together. You’ve obviously seen that I have not given your present to Amelia, nor do I plan to. I only want your promise not to continue with any plans to harm her. If not for me or her, then for Diamonds itself. It wouldn’t do for us three kingdoms to be divided during such trying times.”

There was at first no answer, both women staring into each other’s eyes quietly as the sun beat down upon the pavilion, until Francoise finally let out a breath and took a seat, looking on the verge of tears once more. “I will not,” she choked out at last. “Hurt her, I mean. It’s already happening again, and I don’t know what will happen if- I- I don’t want her gone, but I don’t know what’s right anymore! Surely no one can blame me f-for- not when… I only had to because- and you… do you understand? Their lives all depend on _me,_ me of all people! The blood is on my hands… Madeline’s blood is on my hands because I didn’t… couldn’t… I only wanted to save them…” Alice thought that she was going to break down into violent sobs once more, but past the heavy breathing nothing else happened. Once she was finally able to get herself under control again, Francoise looked up at Alice mutinously. “Are you happy now? Perhaps you have Amelia hiding somewhere, waiting to arrest me? Go ahead!” She swiveled her head around, surveying the area around them as if the King of Spades would pop out from any possibly hiding spot. “I’ve already failed everyone.”

Alice could only stare in disbelief. “Do you know what I’ve realized since coming to your world? Each and every one of you is incomprehensibly stupid.”

“I-I beg your pardon!?” Francoise squawked, the tears finally flowing down her face as though making up for every one that she had managed to hold back in double.

“Yes, that’s it! You are all imbeciles! Everyone is so set on solving problems by themselves that they don’t think about how their decisions influence others, you and Amelia worst of all. I can see how you’ve rubbed off on each other.” Francoise looked about to interject, but Alice wasn’t finished yet. She took a step forward so that the other was forced to look up at her. “If you all truly cared for one another, as you claimed the day you visited me, then you would learn to let each other help! And no, I have not told Amelia of your stunt, and now I know why. It’s because you both need help, and neither of you is going to get it if you keep if all you do is keep up your stupid fighting! Look around you! There are bigger problems to be solved!”

The older woman opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again in shock. Her expression contorted, but thankfully her tears actually began to recede. What with all of the tears that had been shed in these last twenty-four hours, Alice was beginning to get sick of the waterworks. After a few moments of this awkward situation, there was a relieved giggle from the king. “You… really are something.”

Now it was Alice’s turn to be confused. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means thank you, you insufferable jerk. You have a way with words, albeit a very… _harsh_ way. I needed that.”

“D-Don’t thank me!” Alice spluttered, cheeks warming up. “It’s not as if I’ve done anything but tell you off!”

“Ah, but you have!” Francoise stood from her chair and wrapped her arms around Alice, much to her surprise. “You agreed to help us _both._ If you can succeed in doing that, I’ll admit everything to Amelia myself.”

Alice groaned. What was she constantly getting herself into?

 

When Alice finally made it back to the stables, Amelia was brushing out the mane of the queen’s horse. The sight made Alice jump. She hadn’t been expecting the other to wait up for her, especially since she clearly remembered telling her not to. Amelia must have noticed her confusion, as she shyly avoided eye contact. “You don’t have to talk to me if you’re angry. I understand,” she began. “I just didn’t want you riding all the way back to the castle alone, since there’re highwaymen and wild animals and stuff. I didn’t think you’d brought anything to protect yourself with.”

She hadn’t, and it wasn’t that she was really that angry with Amelia, but Alice needed to get her thoughts together before deciding what to do. “Fine,” she relented. “But I’m still riding my own horse.”

“That’s exactly what I expected. Ready to go when you are.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive this chapter's length- there was a lot to cover, and I didn't want to split the content into two chapters. Also, as I wrote almost the entirety of the second half of this chapter at once, this would probably be a good time to tell everyone that this story does not have a beta, so if you see a silly mistake, please tell me so that I can fix it!

Things were beginning to get a lot more stressful for Alice Kirkland than originally thought. As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, suddenly the universe seemed to be finding ways to make things harder for the girl. Amelia was constantly at Alice’s side, making remarks and acting as if nothing was wrong, though everyone must have known what was really going on. Something (their conversation from the previous meeting, Alice guessed), while making the king rather less up-front about her wish for the other to stay, had her going about solving the problem by trying to keep Alice as happy and socialized as possible in Spades. This plan had one fatal flaw, however; Alice needed time to be alone.

When Amelia wasn’t badgering the queen about something or other that would be “fun to do”, Alice had taken to sitting alone in her room as opposed to the library. The reason for this was none other than the fact that rumors of the demands had spread throughout the kingdom, and all but perhaps three of the servants in the castle thought that it was only reasonable to save their own lives by offering up Alice as a gift. She herself felt guilty beyond belief that she hadn’t done so already.

Speaking of sources of guilt, Francoise was visiting for the next two days in order to speak with Amelia. Not about the poison or anything- of course not, who would admit to attempted murder so easily?- but about the possibility of… well, anything but giving in to Clubs. So far, the plans were nothing but Amelia’s ideas of how to combine their armies and lay siege to the capital before the Jabberwock could be summoned, which were obviously not going over very well.

It was during one of these brief moments of respite that Chun Yan pulled Alice off to the side. Amelia and Francoise were beginning to really get into it, apparently still apt to argue despite their renewed willingness to work together, and the queen watched boredly from the sidelines as Francoise scoffed at the idea, once again, that a direct assault on Anya’s kingdom would end in anything but utter destruction. Just as Amelia looked ready to retort, Chun Yan entered the room with an armful of books and an expression of utter bemusement. “How are things going in here?” She asked sarcastically.

“Horrible,” Alice answered, standing from her seat at the table. “Did you need something?”

“Yes; I need you, actually,” the jack answered matter-of-factly. She shoved a book into Amelia’s chest, informing her that it was something to do with places that the Jabberwock may have come from, before she motioned for Alice to follow her into the hallway.

Once they were safely out of earshot, Chun Yan handed the rest of her load to Alice. “Considering the situation that we’ve found ourselves in,” she began in a voice only barely above a whisper, “I thought it prudent that I share all of the information I could regarding our recent history. Not anything like what I’ve taught you already.” She patted the book on top of the pile, nearly causing Alice to drop the entire stack under the sheer weight of it. “I’ve no doubt that you’ll finish them quickly, though I do ask that you remain… open-minded while reading this one. Perhaps you should leave it for last.”

“What do you mean?” Alice asked, though her throat ran dry as soon as she laid eyes upon the cover. It was the book about Madeline, the one that had gone missing immediately after she saw it the first time.

Chun Yan bit her lip, as if trying hard to think out her next words, but in the end she let out a hefty sigh and raised her eyes to meet Alice’s. “I saw you looking at it in the library, but I was… afraid of the outcome should you read it too early.”

Without another word, Chun Yan turned on her heel and marched off down the hallway, leaving the other alone and confused.

They had four days until a decision had to be made.

 

“You said you would help me, my friend,” Francoise giggled as she settled into _Alice’s_ bed in _Alice’s_ room while wearing _Alice’s_ nightclothes, because the woman now thought that she had free reign to use any and all things belonging to her so-called ‘friend.’ Alice could do nothing but snort in disgust and return to the papers that littered her vanity.

“I’m helping you defend your kingdom from Clubs,” Alice replied. “And reconcile with Amelia. I did not, however, agree to let you overtake my chambers.”

“You didn’t have to say anything; I could see the kindness in your eyes, and I knew immediately that you would stop at nothing to assist a poor soul in achieving a good night’s sleep while in a strange kingdom.”

“Save the poetry for someone who cares.” It was definitely a pain having to entertain Francoise for the night. Despite the overabundance of space, she had still decided to intrude upon Alice, and there seemed no way to change the other’s mind whatsoever. She also insisted on taking the (entire) bed and burning a clump of foul-smelling incense. Still… the experience was rather fun. Alice hadn’t had a sleepover since she was a little girl. Even if Francoise was hard to room with, and even if the circumstances of their time together were not the best, there remained a certain pleasure to sharing the night with someone. Especially when that someone knew how to leave Alice to her decisions without trying to sway her in either direction.

Smirking slightly, Francoise flipped onto her side so that she was facing the other. “I assumed you were the type to like poetry.”

“Not the nonsense flattery that people come up with,” Alice scoffed. “What a waste of good words.”

Nodding in understanding, the King of Diamonds took a few moments to do nothing but watch Alice as she read and wrote, violet eyes quickly falling half-lidded with sleep.

The staring had made Alice uncomfortable, but as she noticed the older woman’s face begin to go slack, she couldn’t help but wonder if all that she had needed was a moment to focus on nothing but something slow and monotonous, something that didn’t carry the weight of so many people’s lives. A rush of affection filled her chest. “Hey,” Alice said softly. “Go to sleep.”

“Sleep is overrated, I believe,” Francoise whispered in response, but her voice was already so far away. She must have been on the brink.

“You’ll be a nightmare in the morning.”

“I don’t care anymore,” Francoise replied. Suddenly, her shoulder’s began to shake, and tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. “I- I hate mornings. Never want to see another one.”

Alice didn’t know what to say.

They had three days.

 

There was a crack, then an ‘oomph!’, then a peal of laughter so loud that it woke the pigeons sleeping on the castle roof. “I know you can do better than that!” Amelia guffawed. She sheathed her sword before walking over to help Alice up off the ground.

“Be mindful of my glasses, please,” the queen grumbled. As soon as she was back on her feet, she pulled the things off to inspect them, grimacing at the sheer amount of dirt that clung to the lenses from her last fall. “I’ve only the one pair.”

“Don’t worry about your glasses, I’ll buy you new ones if I have to,” Amelia waved off her concerns with a hand. “Your real concern should be what you’ll do if we’re suddenly caught in a battle. That’s a big possibility if you decide not to comply with their demands.”

But Alice didn’t _have_ to worry, as she’d told the other on several occasions, though none of those seemed to stick. “I told you before! I knew how to use a sword even before this whole mess!” She gestured to the whole of the courtyard, as if that would explain everything. “Even before our first lessons. It was… a- a _hobby._ ”

“You weren’t very good at it, then, sorry to break it to you.”

“I am perfectly good at it!” Alice retorted indignantly. “You simply don’t abide by any of the rules!”

“People don’t abide by the rules in battle,” Amelia stated with a shrug. Pulling her weapon out of its sheath once again, she held the blade on upturned palms and stared down at it with a troubled expression. “There isn’t any politeness in a war. Fighting isn’t like a dance, like everyone says; there’s no room to apologize for stepping on your opponent’s feet. If you don’t play dirty, you die.”

While it rankled a bit, Alice had to admit that this was true. She had never once seen the ferocity of a real battle, nor caused injury to a real opponent. And it made sense- it made complete sense- that a situation in which one was about to die at the hands of another would bring about much different behavior than, say, a group of people who decided to learn for fun (which made Alice remember the people she had learnt with, and she forced herself to clear the thought of her sisters from her mind just for now, until she had proper time to reminisce). In any case, though, hearing such things from Amelia was… saddening, to say the least. What had she done while fighting for her kingdom? Who had she- no. It would do no good to let such thoughts have reign. Instead, Alice picked up her sword as well and looked over the other searchingly. “Despite it all, I still don’t think you would have it in you to do something… _unheroic_.”

“Who says it’s unheroic?” Amelia laughed. She finally looked up, all traces of doubt gone from her eyes. “Even if the methods are harsh, I’m still fighting for my lofty cause, right?”

“You’re a mess, love,” Alice replied with a smirk. “Now let’s get back to sparring. This lesson has had too much emotion for one day.”

Amelia’s face bloomed scarlet, though Alice couldn’t fathom why. “Y-You just called me-“

“A mess, yes, can we fight again? I’m ready to go now.”

They had two days.

 

On the day of Francoise’s departure, she, Alice, Amelia, and Chun Yan all stood outside of the castle. Both Noah and Heidi sat in their carriage, the former waving amicably out the window as his sister stared up at the clock-tower.

“As much as it pains me to say,” Francoise admitted, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders and taking a step towards the carriage, “our best plan really does lie in cooperation for now. It will, at the very least, give us time to think.”

“What are we supposed to do about Alice in the meantime?” Amelia asked.

“What is there to be done?” Alice cut in. She nodded her head in the direction of the waiting siblings. “We’ve been going over our ideas over and over since Francoise got here, and nothing has come up that has any chance of working. You need time; that’s all there is to it. And you get substantially more of it if you send me off until the chance to win this arises.”

Chun Yan nodded, however ruefully, and turned to the Queen of Spades with a small smile. “Whatever you think is best, I support you in it.”

Amelia said something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like the word ‘traitor’, but in the end she ran a hand through her short, blonde hair and let out a discontented sigh, followed by, “Fine. If you’re all so opposed to my ideas, then I guess we’re just sending her off, huh?” After a silent moment passed with none of the usual quips, she looked around at her companions as if they’d each sprouted a new head. “What? Nothing at all? I just gave in!”

“It’s a bit of a surprise, actually,” Alice replied while Francoise let out a low whistle and Chun Yan clapped quietly.

“I’ve been outvoted,” Amelia said with a shrug, refusing to meet any of their eyes.

A loud giggling erupted from Francoise. “You should be sensible more often, it makes things much easier.”

 

Once the royalty of Diamonds was gone from sight and Chun Yan had retired for the evening, Alice and Amelia walked side by side down the hallway that led to their bedrooms. The queen chanced a look at the other out of the corner of her eye, not quite sure what to say now that she’d gotten what she wanted.

“I’m not angry, you know,” Amelia said at last. Her voice was too loud in the previously silent hallway. “You were right obviously; I shouldn’t want to stop anyone from doing what they want. If it’s really what you want.”

“I think it is,” Alice replied stiffly.

“What a shame,” Amelia laughed, and Alice shifted her eyes back down to the floor.

The silence from moments before had returned in full, and despite the queen’s desire to say something that would comfort her friend, whenever a thought came to mind she could not bring herself to speak it. It was probably selfish in any case- to want to push their relationship even farther when Alice was about to leave, possibly forever. There was a pang in her chest at that, but she reminded herself that it had to happen sometime.

“Good night then,” Alice coughed as they reached her bedroom door. Her hand fell upon the doorknob, but she made no move to open it yet. For some reason, it felt like this was it. The decision had been made. As soon as she let herself into the room and closed herself off for the night, that would be the end of all that she and Amelia had built since her coming to Spades. Nothing would feel the same. Even their last day together wouldn’t go right. The invisible tension between them would permeate everything they tried to do or say, and there would never be another chance for Alice to say what had been on her mind. But what was there to say that wouldn’t make leaving harder on the both of them?

Amelia seemed to sense this too, as she didn’t leave either. Neither did she say anything, which was beginning to grate on Alice’s nerves. The king had always been the more talkative of the two, so why wouldn’t she just speak and solve this problem for the both of them? Then, finally, the younger woman reached out to tug on Alice’s sleeve. “Could I… come in for a minute?”

When Alice didn’t say no (though she had also lost the ability to say yes in her nervousness), Amelia followed her into the room and flopped herself down on the bed without invitation. “I’m afraid we’re going to be awkward,” she admitted. “And I don’t want that. I won’t make it feel weird if you don’t.”

“Deal,” Alice agreed, letting out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She sat down on the bed as well, though she made very sure not to get close enough to touch. “We’ll simply act as if life is going on as usual.”

“What would that be like?” Amelia asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“If you weren’t planning on going to Clubs,” Amelia elaborated, looking a bit sheepish. “What would… uh, what do you think life would look like? You know, until you had to go back to England.”

“I… I don’t know,” Alice replied stiffly, staring hard at the floor beneath her feet. And she didn’t. The thought itself made her heart ache. “That depends, I guess.”

Despite her best intentions, Amelia had managed to make this conversation the very thing that she had feared: awkward beyond all belief. A possibility of… something hung in the air, but neither was willing to draw the words out of the other to make it a reality. Alice had never thought herself a timid person, but for some reason her usual bluntness was unavailable. What did Amelia want to hear? What did she expect Alice to say?

As she berated herself internally for her cowardice, Amelia placed one hand on top of Alice’s, effectively halting all intelligent thought. “If what it depends on is me, then- then I think we would have been really happy. That’s all I wanted to… I- um, I just wanted you to know that. Before everything happens. And, you know, in Clubs, they might change your opinion about me, and I wanted to tell you, um, because I may not get the chance again-“

It was becoming increasingly clear that Amelia had no idea what she was doing, but honestly neither did Alice. All of this was completely foreign to her- not just the place she inhabited, but also the people, the mindset, the politics, and how she was supposed to deal with this beautiful, oblivious woman right next to her, who was right about one thing: they might never be able to speak like this again. If that was the case, then there was no time for timidity. No time for thought. So Alice didn’t give herself any. Without thinking, she turned to face Amelia (stunning, sad Amelia, with her short hair splayed around her head like a halo on Alice’s pillow, eyes red), leaned down, and pressed their lips together.

Their kiss wasn’t long, or deep, or feverish. It was as simple as it sounded; their lips touched, and they sat like that for a moment. Amelia brought one hand up to Alice’s face and held it there. When they broke apart, neither said anything for a while, simply looked at each other in mutual shock.

Alice scrambled back, glasses sliding off her face in the process, and made a sound that was almost inhuman. “I’m sorry if that was too forward-”

“I love you.”

“…I’m sorry?”

“I won’t ask you not to leave. But I love you.”

The room began to swim around Alice. She never in a million years had ever thought that someone would say those words to her, or that she would want so much to say them back, but she couldn’t. It hurt. Perhaps she would have been happy here in Spades, with people who found her important, friends like Chun Yan who helped her to learn, and Amelia who loved her. Who… “Honestly, I… think I could have loved you too,” she whispered, tears threatening to fall, before she ran from the room.

 

Amelia stood, prepared to run after Alice and apologize for making everything so much harder on the both of them, but stopped herself at the last second. Alice had run away because she wanted to be alone. Even Amelia could understand that much, though it pained her to think that this might be one of her last memories of the other.

Spades had been so lonely before. Sure, Amelia always had Chun Yan and the people, but something felt like it was missing. There was a loneliness in the king’s heart that she feared may never be filled, would simply exist forever, taunting her with the want for companionship, but never delivering. She’d never cared what kind of relationship it was that appeared (in fact, romance was the farthest thing from her mind at any given moment), just wanted to be close to someone. To understand someone. To be understood.

Then Alice appeared, and she seemed so familiar. Long, blonde hair tied up in twin tails, eyes hidden behind glasses. Of course, she acted nothing like the fuzzy figure in Amelia’s mind would have, the one that she so wanted to meet. That was okay, though; while Amelia’s figure was all sweetness and patience, Alice was all wit and brutal honesty- and it was fun. It was unexpected. It made Amelia want to know more about the girl who faced the Bandersnatch, hung off cliffs, and spoke of places that shouldn’t exist. It made Amelia want Alice to stay.

_I love you._

Those words were too much for the situation at hand, but Amelia couldn’t let Alice go without saying them. She needed to know, to understand the depths of Amelia’s emotions before Anya or anyone else in Clubs could corrupt her thoughts about the King of Spades. She didn’t know what she would do if Alice hated her. Oh God, what if she had to fight against her someday?

Alice or Spades?

Spades or Alice?

Damn it. This was supposed to be easy; Amelia was supposed to say Spades without a doubt. She would have to do it, have to put her feelings aside in order to save her kingdom, but it would hurt, more than anything she’d ever done. It would hurt more than it did right now, as she sent Alice away for the same reasons.

“I hate politics,” Amelia told the empty room.

This room was going to be empty soon. Amelia wouldn’t let anyone touch it after Alice was gone, she decided, but there would be no occupant to give it life. Instead, it would just be filled with memories, and those were nothing. Memories were not what Amelia wanted.

Still, she walked around the room now, looking, touching, laughing at the silly things that Alice bought in town. It was mostly books, she noticed. No surprises there. There were papers, all stacked nicely and neatly in rows on the desk, not a single page out of line. Some were notes on their world, some looked to be journal entries (which Amelia politely skipped over, despite a strong urge to do otherwise), and some looked like articles. Something glinted in the bucket next to Alice’s bed, and Amelia bent down to get a closer look. A pair of glasses sat atop a mass of crinkled up papers.

Oh, that’s right. Alice’s glasses had fallen off right after… and then they must have bounced off the bed and into the bucket during all of the commotion that followed. Well, at the very least, they didn’t seem to be broken. That was a relief. Amelia went to pick them up, but as she bent down, a familiar, sweet scent wafted out.

“What the…”

 

For some reason, Alice’s feet brought her back to the room where Amelia held her mini-coronation. Maybe it was because the room held significance to her, because it cemented the fact that she _belonged_ in Spades, somehow. “But I don’t,” she whispered to the empty room, hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I don’t belong here. I belong in _England._ ”

Without thinking, she walked further into the room, glad that it hadn’t been locked when she tried the knob. It was almost impossible to see anything in here, given that there were no windows, and even if there were, it was the dead of night. To do what she wanted, then, Alice would simply have to utilize her sense of touch.

When Alice felt that she had made it to the correct spot, she gingerly felt around until her hand fell upon a smooth, rounded surface. For a moment she held her breath, not sure if she wanted to feel anything or not, when the familiar _tick, tick_ of the clock sounded quietly beneath her fingers.

“But… I’m _not_ the queen anymore,” she argued with it. “I can’t be if I’m not in Spades. I’m just…”

What was she if she wasn’t Queen of Spades? In England she was Alice, failure extraordinaire, world’s worst sister, and third-rate maid. In Spades she was Alice, long-awaited (temporary) queen and friend to Amelia. As soon as she left for Clubs, she would be… what? A hostage?

“You’re right; you aren’t queen anymore,” said a voice behind Alice, heavy with anger. She’d only ever heard it a few times, and the fact that it was being used against her caused a chill to run down her spine.

Alice whirled around to see the dark shape of Amelia standing in the doorway. “W-What are you doing in here?”

“I should be asking you that. What are _you_ doing here?”

Was she truly that angry about Alice running out after her confession? No. Amelia wasn’t that kind of person; there was something else at play here, something much worse that Alice couldn’t guess. “I wanted to know if my contract was up now,” she began slowly, removing her hand from the clock and taking a small, unsure step forward. Amelia responded by moving almost imperceptibly backwards. “But it’s… it’s not. I don’t know why.”

“Huh.” Amelia moved no further, face near emotionless.

“Amelia, you’re frightening me.”

“That so? I’m pretty frightened myself, you know. It takes a lot to get me to open up. I never thought I’d meet anyone who made me… who _understood_ me. Then, one day, this beautiful, amazing, smart girl literally falls from the sky. How funny is that?”

Tension crackled just beneath the surface. The king’s anger was palpable, hot and coiled, something like a bolt of lightning just waiting to strike. It was enough to scare Alice into silence. After a moment passed between them with nothing said, Amelia let out high-pitched giggle, running a hand roughly through her hair.

“Somehow, you were perfect, Alice! Did you know that? Oh, absolutely perfect. Too good to be true, even! Haha… turns out that’s exactly the case.” Amelia’s expression hardened into steel. “So who got to you, huh?”

“Amelia, what are you-“

“Don’t play dumb with me, or I’m going to get very, very angry, Alice. You’re working with someone outside of Spades. Who is it? Anya? Is that why you’re so desperate to get back to her?”

The absurdity of Amelia’s accusation gave Alice enough courage to finally defend herself. “That is absolutely preposterous, and I have no idea what you are talking about. This is stressful for all of us, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to treat me like a villain.”

“Fine then.” Amelia pulled a tiny, familiar package out of her waistcoat pocket, and Alice felt her blood run cold. “If you can explain what this was doing hidden in your room, then I’ll take it all back. Please give me a good reason. I am _begging_ you to make me look like a fool.”

“I-“

“I know you know what it is, or you’d have eaten it. If you knew what it did and had no ill intentions, you would have gotten rid of it, or better yet- you would have told me! But no. It was in your room. Hidden in a bucket beneath a bunch of paper. Do you know what that looks like, Alice? Do you know what the punishment for that is?”

“Amelia, please, I promise I would never hurt you.” Alice was desperate, trying to find an answer that was satisfactory and wouldn’t place the blame on Francoise. Although she was doing her best to keep a calm tone, she couldn’t stop her voice from going up what felt like a whole octave. “You have to believe that. If you really do love me at all, you have to believe that.”

“Don’t use that against me!” And the tension broke, Amelia’s fury finally flowing out full-force. She slammed the fist that wasn’t holding the fairy food into the doorframe. “You don’t get to try and kill me and then USE THAT AGAINST ME! I trusted you! I-I _did_ love you! It just turns out that you’re a lying, backstabbing witch like everyone else in this awful world!”

Tears were flowing down Amelia’s face, and Alice was unable to keep from crying either, but there wasn’t anything she could say that would make things alright. Saving herself meant ratting out Francoise, but keeping Francoise’s secret safe meant letting Amelia hate her. In the end, it was no contest. Alice was already leaving- first to Clubs, and eventually back to England- and she had made a promise. “Please, Amelia, I can’t say anything else.”

“I can’t let someone betray me again, Alice. I just can’t.” Amelia’s voice came out in a hoarse whisper now, the boiling anger from earlier all gone. All that was left now was a scared little girl. “I really wish I could trust you like I want to.”

They had one day.

 

Guards were posted outside of Alice’s room.

“For her protection, don’t let Alice out of your sight,” is what Amelia said when giving the assignments, but there was an unspoken agreement between the two that she wasn’t to leave her room at all for her last remaining day in Spades.

Luckily enough for Alice, Amelia had decided not to tell anyone but Chun Yan about the incident the night before, so there weren’t any official consequences for the poison. However, the way that Amelia was ignoring her, almost like she’d already left for Clubs, was killing her.

The only upside of Alice’s confinement was that she finally had the time to read the books that Chun Yan had lent her. She left “The Late Queen Madeline” for last, still conflicted when it came to learning the truth from anyone other than Amelia herself. Though… it was unlikely that Amelia would tell her anything, now. Her trust in Alice had shattered irreparably, and Alice didn’t blame her. She’d known that something like this would happen from the moment she threw the parcel in the bucket instead of bringing it to the other immediately. What to do…

There was a knock upon the door, and Alice perked up immediately.

“Alice? It’s me.” Chun Yan stepped into the room, and the guards shut the door behind her. “Don’t look too excited.”

“Oh. Sorry. I’m glad to see you, Chun Yan, I just-“

“No need to explain yourself; I know you and Amelia are, well, _closer_ ,” she said with a small laugh, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What did you do, Alice?”

“Something stupid, but I promise I never planned on hurting you, or Amelia, or anyone in Spades. I can’t tell you anything else.”

Blinking in surprise, Chun Yan crossed the room to Alice and- plopped down next to her on the bed. “I believe you.”

“You- You do?”

“I do, and so does Amelia, though her pride does not allow her to admit it. Your dedication to Spades, to point of sacrificing yourself to an enemy kingdom, proves to me that you are an ally. Besides, the clocks are never wrong. Yours is still ticking away.”

“Oh.” After everything that happened the night before, Alice had just assumed that trying to convince Chun Yan would be just as hard (if not harder) than Amelia. It was more than a little disconcerting that she seemed so willing to believe after such a flimsy defense, though Alice decided not to be ungrateful for the kindness. “Thank you.”

“Have you finished reading?” Chun Yan’s gaze shifted to the pile of books on the desk, the one about Madeline pushed as far back as possible so that Alice wouldn’t have to deal with it.

“I… no, I’m sorry. It feels like a breach of her privacy.”

“You want her to tell you herself.”

“Isn’t that best?”

“She can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

There was a moment where Chun Yan seemed reluctant to speak, but after it passed she began in a quiet, but sure voice, “Only the monarchs remember anything about Madeline, Amelia being the exception. Amelia herself is the one who made it so, out of grief and guilt, and I wrote that book, and placed it in a part of the library that she frequented, in the hopes that she would read it and remember. She hasn’t.” The jack looked at Alice hopelessly. “I am asking you to read it now, not to invade her privacy, but to understand how she feels now. There is unspeakable pain in her past, and that is all that remains with her memories gone. She still feels the hurt of it without understanding why.”

“I don’t blame her for not trusting me,” Alice assured the other. “Given the situation. I haven’t trusted her as much as I should have, either. This is on both of us.”

Chun Yan smiled. “I am glad that you feel that way, but I fear that in time, as Amelia continues to wallow in self-pity, lack of understanding will lead to bitterness. To be honest, I… I am sorry for saying so, as it’s apparent that Julchen’s prophecy upsets you, but… I also hoped that your appearance in Spades would benefit us, not in war power, but by allowing Amelia to come to terms with her past actions. So, even though it is selfish of me, if for no other reason, could you read it as a favor to your favorite jack? Even if you have to do so in Clubs?”

When she looked like that, how could Alice find it within herself to say no?

 

Alice’s time in Spades ended when Anneliese arrived in a coach, several Clubs warriors on horseback around it. It had decided to rain, so the servants watched the scene unfold from the castle’s windows as Amelia curtly informed the Jack of Clubs of the decision to send Alice away, not even acknowledging the Queen of Spades though they were standing right next to each other. Chun Yan stood on Alice’s other side, her cold demeanor aimed, not towards the girl who was leaving, but the one who had come to take her.

The exchange was short. One of the servants loaded a small bag of Alice’s things- some books, her notes, a dress that she had grown particularly attached to- onto the carriage, and all of the assembled monarchs shook hands. Anneliese remained fairly quiet until it was time to depart, at which time she allowed Alice time to say her goodbyes that she did not take.

As they pulled away from the castle, Alice forced herself to look up at the clocktower and its three hands, all still ticking away. A sigh escaped her lips.

“Clubs is not a bad place,” Anneliese said suddenly, eyes locked somewhere outside of their shared space as well. “In time I hope you will realize that this really was for the best.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! The next half of the story will indeed take place in Clubs, and interactions between Alice and Amelia will be minimal for a portion of that time. There used to be a warning on this fic that said "Story heavy with romance as a secondary component" and that would be because of... these next few chapters. However, worry not! For the USUK will return, and until then, we have finally made it to PruAus territory. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things: 1. Do the Cardverse designs wear crowns? No, most of them do not. Did I give them crowns here anyway? Yes, I did indeed, 2. I'm not super confident with my characterization in this chapter, considering how long it's been since I considered myself a part of the fandom, but I don't want to make anyone wait much longer. So, here we are! 3. I wish I could change some of the names I chose to use initially (namely Felicia and Julchen), but since it would disrupt the flow of the story to change them now, I will not be doing so. Bleh. 
> 
> That out of the way, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Upon arrival to the palace in Clubs, Alice was ushered- not into the throne room, or any other place where she thought she might encounter the King and Queen- but into a large bedroom not unlike the one she had occupied in Spades. Her bag was placed upon the bed, and when the servant who put it there began to open it and remove her things, Alice requested that she be left to do so herself. Taking in the sheer size of the room, Alice almost wished that she had brought more items to fill it up. She wondered if she could ever make it feel as much like home as the castle in the kingdom she’d left.

Behind her, Anneliese swept into the room as well. “It isn’t much at the moment, I’m afraid,” she sighed, taking in the empty space, “but you may decorate however you please. I took the liberty of placing some of my own gowns and coats in the wardrobe, as we seem to be the same size. Also, Anya and Daniel will want to see you as soon as possible in order to welcome you to Clubs, so as soon as you are ready we’ll head out to the dining hall. Dinner should be waiting.”

The Jack of Clubs spoke confidently, and with great speed, but she didn’t seem to be doing so to make things hard for Alice (despite her generally stern expression), so she chose not to comment. “Would you mind terribly if I were to just… sit for a moment?”

Anneliese gave a sharp nod. “Understandable. I’ll wait with you, if that’s alright.”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Alice sank into a large armchair and closed her eyes, though she knew it would be impossible to relax. Inwardly, her head was a mess; she was still agonizing over Amelia, and her fears about what would become of her in this new place were beginning to make themselves known. Outwardly, her head felt bare. The crown that once marked her as a queen had been left in Spades, and despite the fact that she would have thought nothing of it in her previous life, the fact that it was no longer hers, no longer proudly displayed on her person, made her feel naked and vulnerable. Somewhere along the way, she had begun to feel as if it were a part of her, as if she deserved it. As if she really was the queen that everyone thought she was. Without meaning to, she raised a hand to where it once sat.

“Harsh,” Anneliese muttered from her own seat on the bed.

“Hm?”

“That she would take it away from you. It’s an insult.”

“She didn’t do so without reason.”

“Because you were coming here?”

“Not quite.”

“We could get you a new one,” Anneliese told her, looking thoughtful. “Though only three have been passed down, I’m sure we could find someone willing to make it. If it were me, I would despise having to live without my crown. It’s more than a silly adornment, it’s… part of who you _are._ ”

For the first time, Alice allowed herself to notice Anneliese’s kindness. She wasn’t simply humoring Alice, nor doing the bare minimum. She seemed to actually care about Alice’s comfort. “That is very kind of you, but it wouldn’t be quite the same.”

“I guess a Spadesian  ruler would prefer a Spadesian crown. How about a hat, then?”

“A hat?”

“I imagine it would feel a bit less like betrayal. I could contact a hatter tomorrow, if you’d like?”

A hat would be better than nothing, Alice supposed, and certainly wouldn’t make her stomach turn at thought of Amelia seeing her in it. Besides, it would be nice to have something that she could call her own. “I would like that very much, actually.”

 

Dinner could not be avoided forever. As such, when Alice no longer felt as if her heart and her brain were in a contest to see which could explode first, she gathered up her courage and informed Anneliese that she was ready to join the other two monarchs.

The dining hall was very large, and unlike in Spades (where meals always seemed to be eaten in another room, with only Alice, Amelia, and Chun Yan inside, all doing some form of work), the long table was filled with people. Anya and Daniel both sat on the far end, across from each other, neither at the head. The former noticed Alice first, and stood immediately, smiling brightly.

“Welcome to Clubs, Alice, Queen of Spades!” She said. The guests around her clapped, and Daniel stood as well, wearing his own smile.

The scene made Alice’s head hurt. None of this was what she expected when she resolved herself to leave for Clubs and keep peace between the four kingdoms; from the way Amelia had made it sound, Alice had imagined being chained as soon as her feet hit the ground. From the meetings, where the royalty of the other three kingdoms had all seemed content to fight over her like she was an inanimate object, she had guessed she would be ignored at best. All of this… she had no idea how to react. Why were they all acting so kind?

_Is it just politics?_ She asked herself. _Just trying to keep me happy so I don’t demand to leave?_ She replied aloud with, “Thank you very much, Anya.”

“No need to stand around; come sit by me.” Anya motioned to the empty chair next to hers, in front of it a plate already filled with identical food to the others around it. As it would do no good to act suspicious now, she did as asked. Anneliese took the empty seat next to Daniel. “Deepest apologies for bringing you here what must have felt so unfairly, but it was the only way to guarantee that you would be put in our care. You are safest here until your destiny has been fulfilled.”

“And we know it must be very hard,” Daniel cut in as well. Up close, he seemed much more approachable and relaxed. His green eyes held apology. “However, we don’t want you to feel uncomfortable here. We hope that, in time, you will come to feel at home.”

“I- that is very kind of you,” Alice stuttered lamely, unable to look any of the three in the eye. “This is- I- I didn’t expect… to be welcomed so graciously.” Afraid to put her foot in her mouth, she did the next best thing and shoved a forkful of a vegetable she didn’t recognize in it instead.

Anneliese’s quiet laugh sounded like the tinkling of bells, and Alice realized it was the first time she’d heard it- maybe even the first time she’d seen the jack smile. “If I’m to be honest, none of us quite expected you either.”

“What do you mean?”

“You seemed much less timid at the meetings,” Daniel answered for the woman next to him.

“Yes, we were all under the impression that you were-“ Anya began, but Alice cut her off exasperatedly.

“Please don’t say feisty. I’ve heard it enough.”

At that, all three gave out a short laugh. The companionable moment filled Alice with the most curious mixture of both happiness and unease.

 

That night, Alice found herself unable to sleep. The room was far colder than she was used to, and the bed made of a different material. On top of it all, there was still the worry she felt over Amelia (her heart felt pierced by a knife of guilt anytime Alice so much as thought about the other), and the disorienting kindness of the people around her, whom she had thought to be enemies all this time. It was no use to pretend like she was going to rest at all.

That thought in mind, Alice made the decision to begin reading Chun Yan’s book about Madeline. She set herself up in the chair that she had sat in earlier, a candle on the table next to it, and let her hands ghost over the cover before finally pulling it open.

 

_Amelia and Madeline were twin sisters born to an ordinary couple in the Spades countryside. Like any other children in the kingdom, they knew of the way that their royalty was selected and entertained thoughts of one day experiencing it for themselves (without ever really believing it to be true). One day, the aging King and Queen of Spades, having renewed their contracts with the clocks many times and now feeling as if their duty to the kingdom had been fulfilled, held a grand ball to find successors. Their jack was still fairly young and optimistic, and she agreed to watch the clock tower as each guest made their way inside. Luckily for Amelia and Madeline, the clock’s hands began to move just as they crossed the threshold. And just like that, they were royalty._

_They learned fast, Amelia taking to her role as the kingdom’s military head more seriously than any other task in her life thus far. Her practice sessions with the sword lasted for hours on end, until she was bruised and bloody, barely able to stand but still willing to fight. She had Spades’s best strategists teach her the basics of strategy and theory in battle, though this aspect proved much harder than the previous for the girl who learned best through action. Amelia knew, however, how important it was that she excel, not only for her own sake, but for the sake of her people- for the sake of Spades itself. Everyone in the castle could sense her desperation not to fail, especially Chun Yan, who watched over the two with a close eye._

_Madeline, on the other hand, took to her task slowly. This was not out of a lack of care or motivation, but because the girl had a tendency to do all things with a certain gentleness that could only be achieved through meticulous, deliberate action, neither of which could be done with the same speed that Amelia blazed through her education. No, Madeline was brilliant at her job simply because of her easygoing approach; the new queen’s softness made the other queens with which she conversed trust her and made them more willing to negotiate._

_The two young monarchs quickly caught the eye of Francoise, the King of Diamonds, a woman who was ever the opportunist- always looking to ally her kingdom with one that boasted more military power for the safety of her people. Almost more, though, she wanted the company of Madeline and Amelia. The three became close, almost as close as family, and flirted with the idea of setting up a permanent alliance between their kingdoms._

_It was, perhaps, not the best time for such things, however they were too enthusiastic to stop what was already put in motion. To some kingdoms, this seemed a threat._

 

Reading so much in the low light made Alice’s vision bleary, prompting her to slowly drift off to sleep, but her dreams were filled with crying kings and chains around her ankles. Every time it seemed that rest was on the threshold, a disturbing vision would thrust her back into wakefulness. There was absolutely no way that she was going to stay asleep.

Though it made her feel like a child, Alice decided to go and wake Anneliese. She felt… almost safe around her for some reason. The jack was the only person who she trusted in any regard in this unfamiliar place, and besides, she seemed the knowledgeable sort, meaning that she might know of something to help Alice sleep through the night. There was only one problem with this plan- Alice had no idea where Anneliese’s room was.

Alice resolved to find the room on her own, stepping outside and into the darkened hallway, when someone materialized immediately in front of her. She stumbled backwards out of surprise and glared at the apparition. “Julchen! Don’t just- do that!”

“I show up to help you out and that’s the thanks I get?”

“With all that’s been going on, you decide that the best time to offer your assistance is when I can’t find a girl’s bedroom?”

The “white rabbit” looked just the same as she did the last time that Alice saw her: confident stance, challenging gaze, scar on one cheek, overall wild appearance. She maintained an air of superiority despite Alice’s apparent anger. “Yes?”

“Why am I even surprised…”

“Do you want to walk and talk? Anneliese’s room is quite a ways off.” Julchen held out one hand, one eyebrow raised. Her smirk set Alice’s teeth on edge. On the other hand, she couldn’t very well find Anneliese without the infuriating woman, so Alice swallowed her annoyance and took it.

“What is it that you need to speak with me about so badly?” Alice asked quietly, so as not to wake anyone who might be sleeping in the rooms they passed. “Besides, you don’t seem like the helpful type. There’s been remarkably little help from your end ever since I arrived in this strange world.”

Julchen ‘hmm’ed in thought and looked at her companion out of the corner of her eye. “Can’t help you, really. I only wanted to make sure you made it to Anneliese’s room alright.”

When this response was met by a pout from Alice, Julchen let out a low chuckle. She did not, however, say anything more for a short while.

Seeing that it was up to her to provide the conversation, Alice let out an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. She’d never been good at this sort of thing, and with all that was happening around her lately, her patience was growing thin. “Are you close? With Anneliese, I mean.”

This seemed to strike a nerve. Julchen’s smirk twitched into something else for the briefest of moments, and her eyes locked onto a random point at the end of the hallway. “What gives you that idea?”

“Well,” Alice began, eyebrows raised. “The two of you weren’t exactly subtle at the first meeting. She knocked a chair over just because you appeared nearby.”

“We used to be closer,” Julchen answered, attempting to appear at ease despite her painfully obvious stiffness. “Would revealing our relationship make you trust me more, dear Alice, or is it simply to sate your curiosity?”

“Both,” Alice replied, because it was the truth, and because she was not ashamed of it. “I am curious, and I tend to trust people who don’t keep secrets from me more.” There was silence from Julchen’s end, forcing Alice to think about Amelia, and how secrets had torn a rift between them. Instead of allowing the quiet moment to go on, she continued, “You feel like a ghost- here one moment and gone the next, completely unattainable. Amelia felt that way too, but instead of speaking plainly, I allowed myself to be suspicious of the person who had shown me the most generosity and kindness since I’d arrived. I will speak plainly now; there is nothing that I know about you other than you are a joker, you brought me here, and you claim I will save these people. Don’t feel as if you are required to share anything, but know that this is how I feel if you do not.”

It was true that Alice was not ashamed of her answer, and she would in no way take it back, but it would be a lie to say that she wasn’t nervous when there was still no answer. Why wasn’t the other woman saying anything? Was she more sensitive than Alice had thought? Was she offended? Suddenly, Julchen’s shoulders began to shake. She was… laughing? “That was rehearsed! Definitely rehearsed!”

“Wh-what?”

“You were far too eloquent to have made that up on the spot,” Julchen managed once her giggles had mostly subsided. “Nobody speaks like that without practicing first.”

“Be quiet!” Alice felt her face go red.

“I will not! That was hilarious, and it deserves to be appreciated.”

“I-In any case, you’re changing the subject! Will you tell me or won’t you?”

For a moment, Julchen looked almost thoughtful. Her posture loosened up slightly, and one hand rose to her face. She was biting her lip, but gave a quick nod a moment later and released it to say, “No. It’s more Anneliese’s business than my own; however, if you ask her, I’m almost positive she’ll tell you. Given some time, that is.”

“Will you speak with her?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Definitely not. And you will refrain from telling her that you saw me here, understood, _schatz_?”

“Curious, but understood. Will you be coming ‘round again?”

“Not for a while. Is it that you miss me when I’m gone~?”

“No, not particularly,” Alice admitted with a smirk that Julchen matched, but it faded quickly. She found herself picking at the lace on her nightgown. “I just worry a bit. I wonder if everything is going according to your plan, or if I’ve messed everything up somehow.”

Apparently this was less surprising than the question about the relationship between Julchen and Anneliese, as well as less amusing than Alice’s previous statement about truth and trust. Julchen didn’t seem to be fazed by it at all, for she replied with the same easy smile and assured attitude as she had displayed at the meeting. “You would know. Don’t worry yourself about it.”

“But-“

“You’ve grown, you know,” Julchen said, cutting Alice off before she could say anything further. “I see everything that you do- everything that you choose- and I see that you’ve grown. I don’t see you ruining your destiny. All mistakes are a part of what makes this world work. Don’t worry your pretty little head about them.”

Even if Alice had a reply to that, she would not have been able to share it, as Julchen disappeared into thin air as soon as she had said her piece. Alice called out her name tentatively, just in case, but was met with silence and an empty hallway.

Luckily, it seemed as if Julchen had left her directly in front of one door- a door that Alice assumed belonged to Anneliese.

 

 

The fields were always Anneliese’s least favorite place. The dirt, the sun, the aching limbs, and the inevitable yelling from her mother to work harder all cemented her opinion that there was no worse place in all of the Kingdom of Clubs. Her hands were meant for finer things; she was sure of it. Each day that she spent planting seeds or digging up vegetables on the family farm, she imagined herself instead in glittering halls, sporting beautiful dresses and speaking with people of high importance. Maybe her skills would improve to the point where she could play piano at the palace someday.

Thoughts like these were what got her through the everyday life that she currently had to suffer. Thoughts like these were going through her head on one particular day, causing her to lie down in the dirt and stare up at the sky. Life in the future would be different; she would be worth something. She would be radiant.

Something towered above Anneliese, blocking out the sun.  It spoke. “Sleeping on the job?”

Everyone knew of the jokers- they were eternal, almost omniscient, and turned the gears of fate themselves. This one must have been Julchen, the white rabbit. Anneliese didn’t know why she was called that, because aside from her snow-colored hair, Julchen didn’t look much like any rabbit she’d seen. Then again, Anneliese didn’t know much outside of farm work, piano, and the few lessons she was allowed in the evening. What she _did_ know was that it was in poor form to be seen lazing around by someone as powerful as her. “O-Of course not! It was the sun! It’s ridiculous to work in this heat!”

“Ah,” Julchen snickered. The action made Anneliese’s temper boil. “Do you require medical assistance? If it’s so bad that you collapsed, it must be serious. Unless you’re simply fragile.”

“Am not!” Anneliese scrabbled to her feet, Julchen stepping backwards to allow her room to do so. Perhaps it was rude to yell at a joker, but at the moment she didn’t much care. “You don’t even know me!”

Ooh, that expression was infuriating! Julchen looked down on her like she was a child (she was, technically, but nobody had the right to treat her as one), or like she was an amusing plaything. It took everything Anneliese had not to storm off. “I know everyone in the world, Anneliese. Isn’t that common knowledge?”

“You don’t seem like I thought you would,” Anneliese grumbled as she patted the dust from her skirts. “I don’t believe you’re a joker.”

“Do you want me to prove it?”

“Can you?”

There was a moment where Julchen shrugged and began pacing circles around Anneliese, who knew all the while that it was an act. Julchen looked too self-assured to really be thinking of a way to prove her power. So it was a game, then? She simply liked to pick on people for her own amusement? Finally, the older woman seemed to settle on something. “I can tell you about your future.”

“My future…” Once again, the image of her older self, adorned in all the fineries of high society, stole its way into Anneliese’s mind. “Tell me.”

“Certain things will change depending on the decisions you make,” Julchen answered easily. Her smile never faltered. “But, certain things are set in stone. You, Anneliese, will get everything that you desire- the parties, the riches, the notoriety, the rest- and you will be happy. For the time being, however, you must continue to fake fainting in the sun in order to get out of your duties.”

“For how long?”

“You’ll know when your time has come.” A beat. “I should hope it would be obvious.”

Then she disappeared, like she always did, there one moment and gone the next. It was almost as if she had never been.

_Come back!_ Anneliese cried, but the words were forced into whispers as the world around her began to fade away as well. It wasn’t fair! Julchen the ghost was once again bringing her pain. _You said I would be happy!_

“Anneliese!”

“Huh?”

There was a shadow above her once again, this time closer to her size and shaking her into wakefulness. Everyone in the palace knew better than to disturb her during the night, so who could- wait. Everyone in the palace knew better, except… “Alice? What are you doing?”

“You seemed distressed,” the former Queen of Spades whispered, ceasing her assault of Anneliese’s shoulder. Again, the absurdity of the situation made itself known. It felt like kidnapping, what they’d done to poor Alice, but what else was there to be done? How else could any of this work? Still, to have a foreign monarch shaking her awake in the middle of the night, possibly out of fear- it made Anneliese’s stomach turn slightly.

“Yes, but what are you doing in my quarters?”

“Oh.” Alice looked away, shoulders drawing up and tensing. Her hair was undone, Anneliese noticed, and her glasses absent. She looked like a completely different person- like someone soft and almost shy. Then again, she had most definitely been more reserved than Anneliese anticipated ever since she arrived in Clubs. “This is silly, but I… I can’t sleep.”

So that was it. Had the situation been reversed, Anneliese supposed that she would have a hard time sleeping as well. With a groan, she lifted herself into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes until the burn of sudden wakefulness was nearly gone. “If you promise not to snore, you can take the other half of the bed.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, but longer wait. Sorry about that, but finals are over and summer has begun, meaning I have more time to write! And actually plan things so that they don't end up all over the place, like this chapter is going to be!
> 
> Quick note: Poland is nonbinary in this fic, as per personal headcanon, and as such goes by both Feliks and Felicja. If this is something that bothers you, their time in this story is brief. However, if it is something that you enjoy, I might write something separate for nb Poland in the future.

That night marked a change in Anneliese’s behavior towards Alice- she was more than just a kindly stranger, but spent almost every waking moment ensuring that everything was to the latter’s liking. She assisted Alice in dressing herself the next morning (although Alice insisted that she didn’t need the help, it became apparent that clothing in Clubs was much heavier and harder to manage than clothing in Spades, and she lost that battle spectacularly), despite the fact that it was the work of a servant. She showed Alice around the entirety of the palace to ensure that she did not get lost should she ever be caught alone. At breakfast, each food on Alice’s plate was described in detail based on taste and texture by Anneliese as the other two monarchs watched in amusement. It should have been embarrassing to be coddled so much, but something in Anneliese’s expression kept Alice from asking her to stop.

“Pair those two together,” Anneliese was explaining, pointing to what Alice supposed was a piece of fruit and a type of bread. “They complement each other well. Speaking of-“ she turned to Daniel, who was smiling into a forkful of his own meal, “- would you like to accompany us to the hatter’s today, Daniel?”

“Are you talking about Feliks?”

“Yes, of course. I know you like to speak with them.”

“Then I would love to.” Daniel’s smile was bright at the mention of this Feliks person, almost blinding.

Anya, on the other hand, was pouting in a manner not befitting of a king. “You will have to bring something back for me. My schedule today is something horrid. Queen Sakura still hasn’t sent word of the prisoners being returned, but King Francoise has sent a twelve page letter pleading us to leave alliances intact. Why is no one cooperative?”

There were several things that Alice had to say about that, but before she could make the bad decision to give her thoughts voice, Anya fixed her eyes on the other and gave an exhausted smile.

“You seem to understand the importance of our endeavors, dear Alice,” Anya sighed. “You see how much this means for our kingdoms, or you wouldn’t have agreed to come here- you would have stayed in Spades and fought. Thank you very much for your sacrifice in doing so.”

The gratitude was so genuine and unexpected that Alice was thrown for a loop.

“I’ll pick something out for you,” Anneliese said as she folded her napkin, saving her new friend from having to come up with a response. “Focus on work for now, and we’ll take over once we get back.”

 

Riding to the nearest city by carriage took about two hours, during which Alice evaluated both the landscape of Clubs and relationship between her travelling companions. The conversation came easily between the Jack and Queen of Clubs, even if it was not quite so simple for Alice, and they spoke with a warm familiarity that made their interaction pleasant to listen to. They explained to Alice about Feliks and the shop, as well as about the city itself and its many architectural and historical wonders. Alice found that she very much liked Daniel, though perhaps not as much as Anneliese, and found herself wishing that they had met under different circumstances.

When the carriage stopped and all three were helped out of it, a flash of a figure ran out of the shop door and launched itself onto Daniel at full speed. After Alice’s eyes were able to catch up with the lightning-fast scene that had just occurred, she saw that the figure was actually a short-haired blonde.

“Dan!” The figure- who Alice assumed to be Feliks- cried. “I didn’t know you were coming!  I would have made something special for you- do you still wear skirts, or did they make you stop that in the stuffy old palace? I could give you a new skirt I was making for myself. Do you want it? I bet you do!”

Daniel laughed and carefully pried Feliks off of himself. “We aren’t actually here for me, old friend, though I might take you up on the offer.”

At this, Feliks set their sights on Alice, grabbing both of her hands in theirs. “Right! You must be Alice, then. I’m Feliks, but you can also call me Felicja, or like, anything you want as long as it isn’t mean.”

“N-Nice to meet you, Feliks,” Alice said, following the eccentric hatter into the shop.

She was set down on a stool in front of a large mirror, and in its reflection she could see both Daniel and Anneliese fighting back laughter at Alice’s confused state. All the while, Feliks, seemingly oblivious to this, pulled beautiful hat after beautiful hat off of the shelves and threw them onto Alice’s lap. “What kinds of hats do you like, Alice? I have tons- what about colors? You look good in green, but I can imagine you in Spades purple or blue and it’s amazing- plus Anneliese said that you would be missing Spades anyways and you might want a reminder. You know what- don’t actually say anything, I have the perfect thing for you!”

Before any protest could be made, her hair was undone and a purple top hat was plopped down upon Alice’s head. It was a bit of a snug fit, and the color of it clashed terribly with the green and cream dress she was currently wearing, but the truth was that she was quite fond of it already. Anything that brought back memories of Spades was worth having, in her book. “It’s wonderful, Feliks.”

“Great work, as always,” Daniel told his friend fondly, but Feliks shook their head in response.

“I can’t really take the credit for that one, as much as I’d like to. That’s Karolina’s handiwork.”

“Still, you picked it out for us,” Anneliese reassured them with a smile. “But how is Karolina doing? Still in the army?”

Feliks nodded, expression darkening slightly at the word ‘army’, but replied in the same cheerful, airy tone that they had been using the whole time. “She’s fine. No time for the shop lately, with like, all the commotion going on about the Jabberwock and if there’s a war. But that’s okay! I’ve got a handle on things around here by myself. For the most part, anyways. Are you sure you don’t want to just quit all the boring stuff and come work here again, Dan?”

“If the kingdom could spare me, I would,” Daniel told them, placing a hand on their shoulder for comfort.

So Daniel used to work in the hat shop with Feliks and whoever this Karolina was. The idea was shocking to Alice. It seemed ridiculous to imagine the Queen of Clubs in any other position than he was now; no matter how hard she tried to conjure it, the image of Daniel in the clothes of his everyday citizens, sewing together hats and trying to sell them to customers, would not come to mind.

And if Daniel used to be a hatter, then what did that mean for Anneliese’s past?

 

Anneliese grew older at what felt like a snail’s pace. Every day felt longer, each task she was assigned more tedious. Perhaps Julchen thought that she was doing the younger woman a favor by telling her of the success of her future, but in the present it was torture. It was- it was holding a pail of water before a man dying of thirst.

However, grow older she did. She became not only beautiful, but quick-witted and smart. Every day, Anneliese took inventory for the family farm, calculated their finances, and thought up new ways drum up business. The latter endeavor never seemed to bear much fruit, but it was a step up from previous years at the very least. At the same time, she studied whenever given the chance, despite the disapproving looks from her family. She spent the little money she was allowed on books and dresses- pretty ones, with lace and beads and velvet, not the kind that every other farm girl in Clubs found themselves forced into.

There was nowhere for her to wear such fine things, though, and as such she often found herself simply parading around her own bedroom in the evenings after studying and before bed, looking at her own reflection and balancing her books atop her head like a child imitating royalty.

“I like that one,” came a voice from behind her.

Despite the fact that it had been years since she had heard it, Anneliese knew who it was immediately. She whipped around without a thought to her current position, and sent a heavy math book tumbling to the floor. She braced herself for the pain of it hitting her foot, but…

Julchen materialized out of thin air in just the right spot and at just the right time to snatch the book before it could do any lasting damage. When she straightened up again, she tapped the top of Anneliese’s head with it. “Goodness me, that wasn’t very graceful at all.”

“It was going just fine until I was interrupted,” Anneliese sniffed disdainfully.

“No ‘how do you do, Julchen?’”

Insufferable as ever. Anneliese gave a resigned sigh. “How do you do, Julchen?”

“How do I do what?”

“… I would appreciate it if you would leave now.”

“Wait, sorry, that was just a joke!” Surprisingly, the joker actually seemed to be afraid to be dismissed, though the smile never left her lips. Anneliese considered herself quite a good judge of others’ emotions, and she could see that, although the other tried oh-so-very hard to seem above the usual range of human feelings, there were certain things that made her uneasy. A smile was only ever convincing if it made it to one’s eyes.

“Fine, you can stay.”

“Good, because-“

“But you have to ask me now.”

Julchen blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Say, ‘how do you do, Anneliese?’”

“How do you do wha-“

“Goodbye, Julchen.”

“How do you do, Anneliese?”

“Well, to do Anneliese-ish things is very hard, you see. First of all, it seems I have to deal with you far more than the average person.”

There was a moment in which Julchen seemed to freeze in place, incapable of emoting or moving her limbs. Anneliese wondered in that brief amount of time if she had somehow managed to tear the fabric of the universe and bring time to a halt before the other woman let out a choking laugh and shoved the book back into Anneliese’s hands. “Y-You… You made a joke!”

Thoroughly confused by this reaction, and more than a little embarrassed, Anneliese felt her face heat up. “Yes, is that a problem?”

“No, it’s great! I just- I didn’t peg you for the humorous type!”

“I thought you could see everything about me, _oh great one_ ,” she muttered with more than a little bit of bitterness.

“I know your future; I can’t possibly know if you have a sense of humor or not without speaking with you first, and from what I gathered, I simply didn’t think you did.”

This stung considerably, and a hot bolt of anger struck through Anneliese’s core. “Why don’t you just tell me what you came here for and leave?”

Julchen’s eyes flashed with hurt, but as usual, she played it off easily. For some reason, this made Anneliese even more infuriated than before. “If I’m not wanted, then yes, I have better places to be. Your hour is soon at hand, beautiful. Just wanted to let you know.”

As quickly as she had come, Julchen was gone again.

 

Throughout the carriage ride back to the palace, Anneliese continually attempted to draw Alice into conversation, only to be met with silence. It was obvious that she wasn’t meaning to ignore the other, simply lost in thought, but still it made Anneliese nervous. What was she thinking about? What was she putting together in her head?

Finally, as they were almost upon their destination, Alice looked up at the other two with whom she shared the space, and asked, “How did you two become jack and queen?”

“That’s quite a personal question,” Daniel answered, not maliciously, but with great discomfort. “In Clubs, it’s impolite to ask.”

“Is it?”

“Indeed so. In Spades, anybody can become a monarch, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for it,” he continued, eyes shifting over to Anneliese, who was trying her best to look unaffected by the question. “But here, to be chosen for one of our positions is also a marker of… great suffering. They go to whoever needs them the most.”

Sneaking a peak at Alice’s face, Anneliese could see that she was, once again, confused. If it weren’t for the memories brought back up by her question, Anneliese would have found it entertaining. There was something about Alice’s befuddled expression that made her look almost angry, though she obviously wasn’t- it was the furrow of her brow and the narrowing of her eyes that did it, along with the way she bit down on her lip. It was endearing, and perhaps that was why Anneliese became, not angry, but almost scared. She was scared of what Alice would think of her if she knew the truth about so many things about the jack.

And Alice so dearly needed a friend in this strange place. It would be selfish to ruin that by telling the truth, right?

… No, Anneliese was just a coward, but a coward she would remain.

“However… would it make you more comfortable here if I were to tell you?” Daniel asked, leaning forward so that his elbows rested upon his knees.

“To be honest, yes, it would,” Alice replied, ever the straightforward one.

The sudden turn of events was beginning to make Anneliese even more nervous than before. Of course, Daniel would never reveal her own secrets to anyone else- they were too good of friends for that- but the expectation from Alice that she might extend the same kindness would surely make her suspect when she didn’t deliver. The gentle rumbling of the carriage began to make her stomach turn.

“I was chosen because I was a starving orphan on the streets trying to help my friends set up a hat shop with no money and no good reputation. Then, one day when we woke up, I was lying in a patch of clovers in the middle of winter. Anya was fetched to verify, and I was taken to the palace the same day. Some power thought me in need and capable of the position, and here I am.”

Unexpectedly, Alice didn’t look the least bit surprised at this information, simply nodded her head and stared pensively out the window. “I came from somewhere very far away from here, at a time when I was lost. Amelia saved me, and brought me to the castle, and all of a sudden I was a queen. We’re not so different there, I suppose.”

 

It was evident from her shining violet eyes that Anya was more than pleased at her gift, which Alice had given her upon their return to the palace after Anneliese and Daniel excused themselves to freshen up before dinner, and handed Alice something in return with a small smile. “You received a letter while you were out! Sorry that I read it, but given the circumstances, I hope you can understand.”

“I would appreciate it if that did not happen next time,” Alice muttered under her breath, but took the letter without further complaint, and found herself hurrying off to Anneliese’s quarters in order to read it. No matter who had sent it, the smarter idea was probably to check its contents in the privacy of her own room, but Alice… she wanted to be with someone when she read it, and she wanted that someone to be a person she trusted. After all, what if it was from Amelia? What if it was news that she was never to be rescued?

Somewhat nervous, Alice gave a few short raps to Anneliese’s door.

“You may enter!” Came the jack’s voice from within.

Anneliese’s reflection from the mirror on her vanity smiled at Alice as she stepped inside. It appeared that she was brushing her hair at the moment, but she finished up promptly so as to not keep her guest waiting, and turned around to face her. “Everything alright, Alice?”

“Yes, actually. It’s just… I received a letter, apparently.”

“Who sent it?”

“I don’t know yet, though it seems that Anya does.”

Anneliese flinched slightly. “Apologies. She doesn’t mean anything personal by it, I assure you.”

“Doesn’t make it much better,” Alice sighed, taking a seat on Anneliese’s bed at a motion from the other. “Still, I wanted to read it in here, if you don’t mind. In case…”

_In case it’s Amelia vowing to leave me here forever._

This sentiment was apparently well-understood, as Anneliese sat beside her and gave a solemn nod. “Of course. Whatever you need.”

 

_Dearest Alice,_

_Sorry to get your hopes up, but I trust that hearing from your good friend Chun Yan is just as good as hearing from Amelia? You’ve barely been gone a day, but Amelia and I are hard company to ignore, so I can only imagine how obvious our absence from your life must be._

_She won’t admit it for a while yet, but I am sure that our mutual friend misses you terribly. I won’t tell you not to take what happened hard- it was serious, and it was painful for the both of you- but I believe I explained Amelia’s situation well enough in our conversation before to show you that it was not entirely your fault._

_In any case, that is not the purpose of this letter. My words must be brief, as I am sure you understand quite well due to the current circumstances, but you must not lose hope. Know that, despite her anger, Amelia is still working hard to see you again someday._

_Should you need me, I will always accept your correspondence gladly._

_Yours,_

_Chun Yan_

_P.S. To Anya- yes, I know that you are reading this, and I ask that you please wipe the smile off your face as you do so- I am_ not _accepting your correspondence at the moment. It would be much appreciated if you would cease sending me messages about personal matters. Good day._


End file.
